Behind the Silver Masks
by DarkMuse01
Summary: Bets, secrets and a nosy reporter. These are the things that made Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini fall from their thrones as the Kings of their High School. But in a place like this, everyone has something to hide. Warnings: Slash, MxM, Non-Magical, Au. Not DM/BZ
1. Chapter 1

Behind the Silver Masks

Hello everybody! If you are not familiar with my previous story _"The bastard child"_ then here is what you need to know. English is not my mother language so please forgive me for doing grammar mistakes and other stupid stuff like that. This story is the result of a poll I had on my profile page, where I asked the readers, which pairing I should use in my next storyline. The answer was Neville Longbottom and Blaise Zabini but there will be also Harry and Draco and other pairings in the future. Let's get this show on the road! (I always wanted to say that!)

Oh! And I don't own Harry Potter but I thought that was obvious…

Chapter 1

_Two months until the party_

The hallways were filled with people, more people than the Hogwarts High School was used to have. And the reason behind this extraordinary thing was that today new students had arrived to educate themselves here. Students from the nearest and very rival High School…

You see, there was a tragic accident at that school the previous summer. A fire burned everything to the ground and now the young pupils had to go somewhere else. So they split them into groups and sent them into every available school they could find.

But this story is not about the Golden Lions of Western High, even though they will play a big part in it.

This is a story about the coolest and the strongest, the meanest and the prettiest, the most popular group inside this building full of naive teenagers, the Silver Snakes or SS. Basketball players, cheerleaders and anyone else that was considered good enough could be a part of the SS. They were ruling the ones below them without mercy or kindness. True tyrants.

The founders of the SS were two rich kids and best friends, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. Their appearances were completely opposite to each other, one pale with white blond hair and silver eyes and the other with tanned dark skin and chocolate brown eyes, but still they were inseparable and always partners in crime. Next to them were always their girlfriends, Pansy Parkinson and Padma Patil, cheerleaders who wore their blue and silver uniforms every day in school. The last member of the leading team was Theodore Nott, a quiet guy with a thin and tall figure. His silent dark blue eyes held an uncommon sadness in them.

And here they were now, standing in front of Draco's locker and waiting for the blond boy to gather his books. Suddenly a flash shined before them, making their eyes hurt for a second but before the person responsible for this could run away Blaise grabbed him and held his small body in the air.

"Riddle!"

Another short boy came out of its hiding place, behind a wall, and stared at them with venomous black eyes and dark brown hair. He was holding a small notebook and a pen in his hands.

"I think this…" Blaise gestured to the younger blond boy in the air. "…is yours."

Blaise let go of Colin Creevey and he fell to the floor with a loud BANG! Tom Riddle ran to his friend and helped him stand up by giving his shoulder for support.

"You don't have to do this! All we wanted was a picture for the school's newspaper! Why can't you be nice?"

The SS laughed at Tom's hysterics and Draco said in a rude tone

"Who would want to be in your lame newspaper? You are such a dork, Riddle."

The group laughed again and started to walk away…

"I have an offer for you!"

Draco and Blaise froze at the statement and turned around quickly.

"'You' have an offer for 'us'. That's hilarious! Let's hear it. I want to laugh at your face." said Blaise, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Tom glared at them and then almost shouted "Let's make a bet."

_I am a line_

Outside of the school two boys were walking together, talking to each other calmly. Once they were inside the brunet one looked around with his piercing green eyes and said to his red head friend

"This is a new beginning…"

_I am a line_

"So let me get this straight. You think that neither I nor Draco can make that Hermione girl from Western High to sleep with us in two months?"

Blaise stared at Tom like he had just grown another head. The three of them were sitting at the basketball team's locker room, discussing the terms of the bet.

"Yes. And I will put my money on it. 500 bucks."

Draco and Blaise glanced at each other and smiled evilly.

"Money is not something important to us." stated Draco.

"Then how about this. Whoever wins will get the small apartment that my grandfather has left me after his death. I don't want anything from that old man anyway."

"What's so special about this girl?" wondered Draco, thinking that this was too good to be true.

"She is a virgin, a feminist and a know-it-all. Also she is a control freak and never dates. Her only friends are a grey cat and a queer named Neville Longbottom. She is very difficult to manage."

The two best friends examined the situation in their minds. They needed their own space. Their parents had forbidden them to use their houses for their parties. This was an excellent opportunity for them. As for the girl, one of them could make her change her mind about dating very easily.

"And if you win?" asked Blaise after he realized that Draco was thinking about accepting as well.

A smile entered Tom's face. "If I win then you will acknowledge me as a member of the SS. I will be respected and protected and you will never bully me again. Also I will have the 500 bucks. And of course, no one will know about this. Not even your girlfriends."

"Deal" said the two friends together. After all they had nothing to lose…

_I am a line_

At the same time as the deal was sealed two people were doing their usual secret routine.

Pansy Parkinson was standing in front of the girl's bathroom's mirror, staring at her reflection with pained eyes. Everything was wrong. Her body was horrible! Her hair was too long and a boring black color, her eyes were too small and her nose was too big. But the ugliest thing she had was her figure. She was fat! It's no wonder Draco hasn't slept with her ever since they first started dating. He felt disgusted by her!

She had to fix this and fix it now!

On the other side of the school, Seamus Finnigan, one of the new students from the Western High, opened his new gym locker and looked around him in alert. No one was supposed to see what he was about to do. His parents were expecting great things from him. A basketball scholarship was all he needed to make their dreams come true and for such a big dream, sacrifices had to be made.

"_Everybody does it." _thought Seamus before he put the steroid pill into his mouth.

"_Everybody does it."_ thought Pansy before she started throwing up on the toilet seat.

_I am a line_

In a small classroom that afternoon Tom and Colin were discussing about the events of the day.

"Phase one of the plan is now complete, Colin. All we have to do is sit back and observe."

A/n: Thank you for reading! The SS in this story has nothing to do with the political organization SS. The acronyms are just a coincidence. I realized this after I wrote this chapter and I couldn't change it.

Please leave a review to let me know if you like the new story.

Bye!


	2. Chapter 2

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 2

_60 days until the party _

"So, should we share strategies?"

The two Silver Snake leaders were sitting at the school's cafeteria, observing their target and thinking about ways to approach her without making her angry. Hermione Granger looked pretty normal from afar, just like any girl in this school. Her hair was curly and a boring brown color and her eyes were brown as well. Her clothes were pretty ordinary too. But if anyone paid close attention to her for more than three minutes, they would realize that she was far from ordinary.

Even though she was quite short, her posture showed a strong and determined person. If you looked closely, her eyes weren't boring at all they were sharp and stubborn, as if she could kill you with one glance if she wanted to. She was talking nonstop to the brunet boy next to her, but he looked like he was used to it. He was very different from her.

"I think" Draco answered "that we should try the direct approach. Find out what she likes and show her that we share the same interests. Then she will see one of us as an equal and maybe decide that having a boyfriend is not such a bad idea."

Blaise analyzed Draco's strategy in his mind and said "I think that talking to her friend first will be easier. She seems smart. She will definitely realize that something is not right, if out of the blue two guys start to flirt with her. That guy on the other hand, he is shy and lonely. We will fake being nice to him and he will introduce us to Hermione as two good boys, who are different from the douchebags she met before. That way she won't suspect a thing and she will like us immediately."

"That's too much work. Our time will be up in no time, if we spend it on befriending the fag. My plan is better."

Blaise rolled his eyes at Draco's stubbornness. "Okay, so we will do them both. I will speak to the friend and you…"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS POTTER DOING HERE?"

The dark skinned boy followed his friend's stare and rolled his eyes again. Harry Potter was the captain of the Golden Lions' basketball team and Draco's rival at almost everything. This was not good.

"Last time I checked, he was going to Western High. He must be in the group of students that ended up here."

Draco glared at the brunet with the green eyes and his redhead friend and said "I will kill him, if he tries to take My team away from me."

"As I was saying, we will use both of our plans to win the bet. I will get the information you need from her best friend and you will try to talk to Hermione directly. If you fail, which you will, I will continue my plan as if nothing had happened."

The blond nodded at Blaise's decision.

"Oh shit! We have another problem." noted Blaise "We have to break up with our girlfriends."

_I am a line_

"Harry, are you ok?" asked Ron, worried about his friend's reaction to this new environment.

"Yes, Ron I am fine. There is no need to ask me every two seconds."

"But after what happened back to our old school…"

"Just forget about it. No one knows about that here and WE will make sure that no one will ever find out about it…"

_I am a line_

"… and that's why we have to take a break. I need time for myself."

Pansy stared at her boyfriend with big glassy eyes. She understood Draco's reasons completely. He wanted to be alone… he wanted to be away from her. She was right he was really disgusted by her.

But she will change…

"I understand. You can have as much time as you want. I will try really hard to make you come back to me whenever you are ready."

The cheerleader walked away, thinking about the fastest way to lose weight.

"Don't you think that that was a little too easy?"

Draco turned around to see Theo standing next to the lockers. His eyes were staring at him with a mixture of their usual sadness and an unexpected for the brunet anger. He and Draco had become friends two years ago, at the same time that he had started going out with Pansy, and even though they didn't knew each other very well, Draco had always respected his opinion and strong personality.

"Pansy is a clever girl. She understands."

"Something is not right Draco. I can tell."

"It's not a big deal, Theo."

Draco walked to the opposite direction from his girlfriend, leaving a sad and troubled Theodore behind.

_I am a line_

Blaise entered the gym, holding his nose with both hands.

"What happened to you?" asked Draco who was wearing the usual blue and white gym uniform.

"Padma…" was the only thing Blaise managed to say.

Draco laughed loudly and patted his best friend on the shoulder. Padma was a true wildcat. She knew how to defend herself in difficult situations and she never feared anyone. Blaise's nose was a living proof of that.

"Gather around!" yelled a warm voice and the basketball team ran to their coach, Mr. Lupin, a man with light brown hair and a big smile.

"Today we have new additions on our team. Since many of our players left for college last year, this season we need all the assistance we can get. Some of you may know them from the Golden Lions team. Come out guys."

Five boys with the gym's uniforms on walked into the room and Draco's eyes widened. No! Not Potter!

"Introduce yourselves!" ordered Coach Lupin.

"I am Seamus Finnigan." said a boy with sandy colored hair and a heavy Irish accent.

"My name is Dean Thomas." said a dark skinned boy next to Seamus.

"Cormac McLaggen." stated a tall guy with blond hair and green eyes.

"I am Ron Weasley." said Potter's best friend. Draco hated that redhead guy almost as much as he hated the green eyed boy who spoke next.

"Hi, I am Harry Potter."

"Great! Now let's select our captain for this year. Whoever wants to be nominated please raise your hand."

Draco raised his immediately but started shouting when another one was raised.

"NO WAY! No! This is our school! Potter has nothing to do with it!"

"Draco! Harry was the youngest captain in thirteen years! He is skilled and talented and having a captain like him will be an amazing opportunity for us."

"Mr. Lupin, it's okay. Draco and I go way back. We can have some sort of challenge to see who will be the leader." said Harry.

Coach Lupin thought about Harry's proposal for a moment and then said

"Okay, here is what we are going to do. We will have a match to decide which one of you will be the captain but… we will switch the teams. Draco will lead the former Golden Lions and Harry the Silver Snakes. And to prevent any cheating…" Mr. Lupin glanced at Blaise. "The winning team will also be the one to play at the first five games this season."

"Fine by me." agreed Harry.

Draco glared at the brunet and nodded.

"Let's play!" yelled the coach and the two teams started talking about their strategies.

The game was very interesting. Both teams played to win but Harry's managing skills and talent were a great advantage. He had put Grabbe and Goyle, the two biggest guys on his side, on defensive positions and nothing could get pass them. Harry, Blaise and Theo moved fast on the court, passing the ball to each other with great technic.

But Draco's team was good too. Seamus and Dean even though they weren't as large as Vincent and Gregory, were more experienced. Draco, Ron and Cormac were an equal threat to the enemy trio, playing with passion and determination.

At the last seconds Harry scored the last points, winning the game and the leadership.

Draco stormed out of the gym after that, filled with rage and hurt.

_I am a line_

"Everyone get the FUCK out of here!"

The members of the SS ran out of the locker room as soon as Draco had screamed these words. An angry Draco was a dangerous Draco.

"You too Golden Whatever. I want to talk to our 'captain'."

Cormac, Seamus and Dean followed their teammates outside without saying a word. Ron glanced at Harry with worry and after his best friend nodded he did the same.

"You ASSHOLE! Who do you think you are? Taking the leadership of MY TEAM away from me?"

"Malfoy calm down. It was a fair match and you know It." tried to reason him Harry.

The blond paced around the room hitting every blue locker he could reach. Suddenly he grabbed Harry by the collar and slammed him against the nearest wall.

"You… Why did it have to be you? Out of all the people in Western High, why did you have to come here?" whispered Draco, looking right into Harry's eyes "Why can't you leave me alone?"

The brunet was unable to say anything because his lips were busy at the exact moment Draco stopped talking. A tongue pushed his mouth open and it started teasing him with its slow movements. Harry moaned in pleasure and put his arms around the pale neck in front of him.

Draco froze at the reaction and pushed Harry away from him.

"NO!"

After he had screamed that Draco stormed out of the room again.

_I am a line_

Padma Patil opened the locked door next to her room and sat on the black chair next to the big bed with the flowery covers.

"Hi. School was okay today. The cheerleading practice was fun and challenging. I even met a new girl, Ginny Weasley. Coach Tonks says that if she was a little older she might have been our leader…"

She glanced at the girl on the bed and continued "Blaise broke up with me. And I broke his nose. I know that you don't like violence but he pissed me off so much. If you had heard the stupid excuses he told me, you would have done the same."

Padma stood up and caressed the identical cheek of the silent girl

"Please wake up soon Parvati. It's so lonely without you, sister."

A/n: Finished! Let me know what you thought about the second chapter!

Thank you very much for reading and special thanks to Lukakoolarigato and dreaminGemini for their reviews!

Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 3

_57 days until the party_

These past three days had been a true torture for Draco. He expected that at any moment someone was going to scream "Fag!" at him and everyone will know his secret. And it was all Potter's fault.

Potter with his beautiful green eyes and that sinful mouth and...No! He needed to get himself under control. Three years had passed since the first time he had seen Potter and yet this feeling in his chest was still there. The memory was always clear in his head.

It was the first game of the season. He had just started High school and he wanted to see if the basketball team was worthy of his time. Blaise was sitting next to him on the stands, waiting with excitement for the match to begin. Then the Golden Lions entered the court and Draco's world changed forever. Because at that moment his eyes met the most amazing pair of emerald eyes he had ever seen in his life. And after that he couldn't look away. He followed every movement the brunet made mesmerized by his grace and power. He stared almost without blinking at his small figure, wanting to burn the image in his mind forever. And he did. Because from that day onwards he would never forget that boy again.

Unfortunately his lust turned to anger. He had seen the way people treated the ones who preferred the same sex and he would never let that happen to him. So he hated Potter. He hated everything he was and everything he did, in an attempt to protect himself, to stop himself before he did something reckless.

But now he had done it. He had revealed his secret to Potter, who was definitely going to tell someone and then everyone will know.

Why was he still keeping his mouth shut?

_I am a line_

"Do you need help?"

Neville Longbottom almost dropped the books he was carrying when he heard the low masculine voice next to his ear. He turned around slowly to see Blaise looking at him and waiting for his answer. He had heard about the SS and their bullying from a guy on his Biology class. Neville was used to being treated like dirt because of his sexuality so he was expecting their attack this time.

"Do you want to throw my books down, paint my locker with pink paint or push me into a dumpster? Do whatever you want. I am too tired to care anymore."

Blaise looked hurt for a moment and then said

"No, I was just wondering if you needed help with all those heavy books you are carrying."

Neville sighed heavily and gave the biggest books to Blaise without saying anything more. If the King of this school wanted to harm him then he couldn't do anything about it.

Surprisingly the taller boy carried his burden silently and even walked with him all the way to the library.

"Should I let them here?" asked Blaise, pointing at an empty desk in the corner.

"Yes, it's fine."

"You like plants, right?"

Neville was taken aback by the question and stuttered

"H-How do you know that?"

Blaise chuckled at the other's nervousness "Your books are all about how to take care of a garden."

The hazel eyed teen stayed speechless for a few minutes and then said in a more steady voice.

"I don't understand. Why are you being nice to me?"

"You seem like a very interesting person. Maybe we could be friends."

Neville analyzed the situation quietly. He never had many friends in his life. Ever since he had come out of the closet, his classmates avoided him at any cost. Only Hermione was brave enough to tell everyone to go fuck themselves and stay by his side all these years. She was very loyal to him and Neville would never betray her. And now this guy wanted to be his friend? He would have to talk to Hermione about that. After all she was the smartest of the duo.

"I don't know…"

"Hey, don't stress yourself. Come and find me if you need anything."

With that Blaise patted Neville on the shoulder, smiled gently and left the library as silently as he had come into it.

_I am a line_

"Pansy! Wait!"

The girl in question stopped on her tracks and faced Theo with a quick move.

"Yes?"

"Can we talk alone for a second?"

Pansy nodded at the cheerleaders around her and followed her ex-boyfriend's friend and her best friend at the same time at a lonely table of the cafeteria.

"Pansy, I am worried about you. You didn't even touch your lunch today. Are you feeling alright?"

"I was just a little nauseous these past few days." answered Pansy without hesitation.

Theodore examined the girl thoroughly. Her eyes were black from exhaustion, her skin looked paler than usual and her hair had lost its shiny color, becoming a fader shade of black. She was in an awful state.

"You can talk to me. I know how depression feels like and you can get through this. You don't have to be sad over breaking up with Draco."

"I am not sad and Draco and I will be back together very soon. He just needs some space. The time apart is a great opportunity for me to change."

Theo's eyes widened. "Change? But you are perfect…"

Pansy put her hand on the boy's cheek softly. "You are so kind, Theodore. Always polite with people but I am not perfect yet. I will work hard to reach true perfection."

These were the last words they said to each other before Pansy stood up and went back to her friends.

_I am a line_

Draco was furious! His day had passed with a big dose of fear and yelling. He jumped every time someone called his name, snapped at everyone and everything and kept waiting for his gang to start beating him up for being a queer.

He needed some answers and he needed them NOW!

So when he walked into the gym for the last period he grabbed Potter by the hand and pushed him into the locker room. He locked the door behind him and returned his attention to the other boy.

Harry stared at him like he was a wild animal ready to attack

"Malfoy…"

"Why didn't you say anything? You know my secret! You can tell EVERYONE! Why aren't you doing anything? I am going insane!"

"It's not my secret to tell."

"Yea, right! That's just a lame exc…"

Then Draco remembered. He remembered every small detail of the incident he was trying so hard to forget.

"You kissed me back." He whispered "You liked it! You are just like me!"

Harry's face turned pink in seconds. That was all the confirmation Draco needed.

"HARRY! Are you okay? Is that little ferret hurting you?" screamed Ron from outside the room. "Malfoy let him go!"

"It's okay Ron!" shouted Harry "We just have to talk about something! I will be out in a minute!" He then turned to Draco and whispered "Look, I won't tell if you don't tell. It will be our little secret."

The brunet tried to walk away but Draco slammed him back on the wall.

"You are just like me…" he repeated with a dazed expression.

"I know that."

"I want you…"

Harry's breath was caught in his throat. "B-But I thought you didn't like me."

"I don't like you I just want your body."

"That's so romantic!"

The blond rolled his eyes and said "I am not trying to be romantic. I am trying to be honest. I don't want a relationship with you, hell I don't think I am even ready to date a guy but I have urges. And you have too. So why don't we help each other with them?"

"So let me get this straight. You want to be my sex-friend?"

Draco smirked evilly and answered "Yes."

"You are already insane!" said Harry and pushed the Malfoy heir away from him.

When Draco was left alone in the room, he whispered into the air

"It's just a matter of time…"

A/n: I really don't know why this chapter ended up this way but I will let the characters guide me.

Thank you for reading!

Bye!


	4. Chapter 4

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 4

_54 days until the party_

Hermione Granger was walking down the school's hallway that Monday morning, thinking about what Neville had told her on the phone last night. She was wearing dark jeans with a plain t-shirt and a blue thin sweater over it. On her feet she had a pair of white sneakers. She never cared about fashion. Fashion was for the people that were too insecure to wear what they really wanted. And she always wore what she wanted.

Back to Neville, he had decided that he wanted to be friends with one of the SS Kings. He said that the guy was nice and handsome and that he even had helped him to carry his books back to the library. Poor Neville! Even now, after everything he'd been through, he still believed that people were good deep inside their hearts. But Hermione had seen the truth when their classmates had turned against her best friend. And all because he was gay! Because he was different and people couldn't understand and accept that. So she didn't believe their lies and fake promises anymore.

"Are you Blaise Zabini?"

Blaise faced the girl and almost smirked. His plan was going faster than he thought. He had his target's attention.

"Yes?"

"I want you to leave Neville alone!"

The SS King was startled for a moment and then said in a seductive voice

"Sorry but I didn't understand you. Leave Neville alone? Why? And who are you?"

"I am his best friend! That's all you need to know about me. Neville is a good kid and I won't let you or your gang hurt him with your stupid pranks! I know what you are. You are just another selfish little rich kid who likes to play with other people's feelings!"

"I don't care what you think about me and if Neville doesn't say this to my face then I won't stop talking to him. He doesn't need someone like you to speak for him."

"I won't say it again, leave him alo…"

"Hermione?" Blaise and Hermione turned to see Neville staring at them, holding a large green book in his hands. "What are you doing?"

"I am just warning the smart-ass here that if he doesn't leave you alone, his balls will be missing soon."

"Scary…!" whispered Blaise. He was having so much fun with those two. They were so clueless.

"I am so sorry, Blaise. She is overprotective." Apologized Neville and glared at his best friend. He just wanted her advice, not to start yelling at Blaise! He had done nothing wrong.

"Overprotective! He has seen nothing yet. Wait until I wear his testicles as a necklace! Then we will talk about overprotectiveness." threatened the girl.

"You are scaring him! Please stop it!" begged Neville with pleading eyes.

"You don't get it Nev! He is the bad guy in this situation."

"I will be the judge of that."

"Fine! But I will be watching you."

After that Hermione walked to her next class, ready to scream to whoever approached her.

"I am sorry again."

"It's okay, Neville. She is just worried."

The shorter boy hesitated for a moment and then asked in a small voice.

"Do you really want to be my friend?"

Blaise was taken aback by the sudden question. It wasn't its content that surprised him but the way that the other boy had said it. It was like he needed a friend desperately, like this was the most amazing that was happening to him right now. His big hazel eyes were looking right at him in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. It made him almost believe that his denial would make Neville cry.

…And for some unknown reason Blaise didn't want to hurt Neville.

"Yea, why wouldn't I?"

Neville smiled brightly and for the same unknown reason, Blaise's heart skipped a beat. Maybe he should go to a doctor for that.

_I am a line_

"Harry. HARRY!"

Harry's concentration was broken by Ron screaming next to his ear. They were sitting on their usual now table in the cafeteria with Seamus and Dean, and Harry was trying very hard to ignore Malfoy's stare from across the room. All through the weekend he had received many inappropriate text messages on his cell (And how the hell did Malfoy get his number?), calls from an unknown caller (As if he would answer one of those) and this morning he even found a small note saying _"Still thinking about it Potter? You know, you will say yes in the end."_ Inside his locker (Again how the hell did he open his locker?).

When that sneaky git wanted something, he did everything to get it. And Harry didn't want to be another one of his possessions.

What Malfoy had said in the locker room was true. He did have urges and staying in the closet was making it really difficult to satisfy these needs. Only Ron knew about his sexuality and after that horrible incident in his old high school, he had decided that it was better this way.

But being Malfoy's sex friend was far from what he had expected his first relationship to be. He wanted a boyfriend, to fall in love with someone not to become a sex-addict. And Malfoy would never give him what he wanted.

"What is it, Ron?"

"You have been spacing out a lot this morning. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

On the other side of the large room the same thing in a little different way was asked

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Draco? You haven't even started your plan yet! I am doing all the work on my own! Do you want Riddle to beat us?"

"Blaise, I don't care about Riddle anymore. I have a new mission now." answered Draco without stopping giving small glances at Potter. The more the brunet resisted him, the more Draco wanted to capture him. He really liked this chase.

"And what's that? What's more important right now than winning the apartment?"

"Something… I have been waiting for a very long time to make mine."

_I am a line_

"Mr. Potter, could you please bring some ingredients from the storage room? We need them for the experiment."

Harry rolled his eyes at Professor Snape's, the professor with the greasy long black hair and the matching-colored clothing, request. That man always made him carry everything alone. And he always needed something!

"Right away Sir."

The teen stood up from his seat and walked out of the classroom with quick steps. He would do this as fast as he could.

When the door closed behind him in the small room, he heard the lock click behind him and a pair of arms circled his waist.

"Finally… we are alone." whispered a familiar voice into his ear.

Harry turned around and stared at Draco with wide eyes.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Unlock the fucking door NOW!"

The blond trapped Harry against the wall (it had become a habit now) and put his hands on either side of the other's head and his left leg between his legs.

"Don't be so mean, baby."

"I am not YOUR BABY!"

Draco bit Harry's neck hard, emitting a loud moan from the yelling boy.

"Aren't you? Cause your body says yes."

"Stop doing that… mpff!"

That guy was unbelievable! Locking them in a tiny room and now kissing him like that! Why was this happening to him?

Draco pushed their hips together and lowered his hands on Harry's ass, making the brunet's strong legs lock around his waist. He broke the kiss with a whimper and said

"God you are perfect, Potter. So hot."

Harry, clouded with lust, moved his arms on Draco's neck and crashed their lips together once more. He forgot about the locked door, the ingredients he had to take to Snape and how wrong this was. There was only fire in his brain and he couldn't make it stop.

"Is anyone in there? Why is the door locked? Do you need help?"

"Shit!" yelled Draco and released Harry quickly. Everything was going so well before the janitor appeared!

Harry regained his sanity but before the door could open, he whispered.

"Never do such a thing again."

Then he walked out without looking back.

A/n: Hi, it's me again. I don't know when I will post the next chapter but I will to write it soon.

Thank you Lukakoolarigato for reviewing!

Bye!


	5. Chapter 5

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 5

_52 days until the party_

"Five, Six, Seven EIGHT! Move your asses, ladies! Champions don't dance like monkeys in heat! Even my son has better moves than you and he is only four!"

Coach Tonks yelled at her cheerleaders again, her flaming red (and obviously dyed) hair shining in the bright sunlight. They were practicing outside today because the basketball team needed the gym to prepare for their first game next week. That husband of hers was trying really hard to win this year, now that the Golden Lions weren't a threat to them. He even recruited the former rival players and placed one of them as their new captain.

"Parkinson! Focus on the choreography and stop staring at the sky like a retard! You are my captain so show me why I shouldn't kick you of the team right NOW! There are others, who can take your place in seconds and I won't hesitate to ask them!"

Pansy knew exactly who these _people_, that coach was talking about were. She glared at a short redhead girl at her left but the bitch only smiled at her evilly. Pansy wanted to choke Ginny Weasley to death… if only she had the chance. Ever since she joined the cheerleaders, she tried to prove to everybody how much better she was from their leader. Even Padma was blinded by her fake kindness.

But Pansy wasn't stupid. She knew how to handle these kinds of situations, with diplomacy and a lot of back-stabbing. Piece of cake… And now that she was going to lose the extra weight and become prettier, everyone would admire her and respect her even more than before.

"Okay, ladies. We are done for today. Remember to practice your steps at home and be ready for the game. The basketball team is not the only one who has to do their best that day."

The girls walked together into small groups and Pansy found herself between Ginny and Padma.

"A friend of mine from my old school is coming today and she wanted to meet you both. You don't mind, do you?" asked Ginny.

"Not at all! She is welcomed here. Is she a cheerleader too?" said Padma in her usual loud voice.

"No, she is a photographer. Her name is Luna and we were best friends since we were kids. Ah, there she is… Luna!"

The Weasley girl waved at a blond figure next to the school's door but continued to shout her name until she got her attention. Pansy thought that it was extremely annoying.

Luna walked to them slowly as if she was part of a dream, moving with a grace that only members of a royal family could have. Her big grey eyes held a weird innocence, and her pale skin was never touched by the sun for too long.

"Good morning, girls." She said in a small voice.

"Luna, these are Padma Patil and Pansy Parkinson." told her Ginny, pointing at the two cheerleaders. Pansy ignored the fact that her name was second and raised her hand for Luna to shake. No need to be impolite to the new girl. Just like her mother always reminded her: It is best to show your nice side to strangers and trick them with your masks. They will never think that you are the enemy…

"It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." The blond turned suddenly to Padma and said "Patil? Don't you have a twin sister? I remember at my old kinder garden there were the famous Patil-twins."

Padma paled at her words. "No, no. I don't have a sister. I am an only child."

"Oh… I made a mistake then, sorry. I always forget things"

"Let's go to the Gym! I want to see my brother." Ginny screamed girlishly and grabbed Padma and Luna by their hands. Again Pansy ignored the fact that she forgot about her and almost left her behind. Ginny will regret that very soon…

"You mean you want to see Harry Potter." noted Padma.

"That too." giggled the other girl and continued her quick steps towards the gym.

_I am a line_

"Good job, guys! If you play that way on Tuesday then we will definitely win!"

Remus patted his team on their backs and smiled happily. This time the trophy was theirs.

"Harry! Over here!" shouted a young girl and Ron rolled his eyes at his younger sister's behavior. She was so stubborn! Couldn't she see that Harry wasn't interested in her? She was embarrassing him to his best friend!

"Ginny, keep your voice down!"

"You should keep your voice down first, you stupid caveman!"

"You are stupid!"

"No, you are STUPID!"

"Guys! Stop it!" begged Harry and stepped between them quickly. "Please stop it."

The Weasleys became quiet and Pansy hid her smirk with her hand. If Potter could stop them so easily then he had her respect.

"Hi Harry."

"Hi Luna. Pansy, Padma it's nice to you as well."

Oh, this guy was good. His charming smile was almost sinful and his tone was always polite and cheerful. Pansy would keep a close eye on him from now on.

Suddenly the small group's attention was caught by an unusual incident.

"What the fuck is Draco doing?" yelled Padma with a shocked expression.

Harry turned around and almost fainted by the sight of Draco Malfoy, shirtless and with a teasing smile on his face. He took his plastic water bottle and staring right at the direction of the group, poured its contents above his head. His blond hair got instantly wet, giving him a sexier and naughty look, and cool crystal drops fell slowly on his pale chest. He shook his head to get the water out of his face and Harry's chin dropped to the floor. He just couldn't look away.

"Did he just wink at us?"

"Padma, he does all this on purpose. He clearly wants to get back together." said Pansy smugly.

"_He just winked at me! In front of everyone! I am going to kill him!" _thought Harry, trying really hard to bury his desire and the urge to lick the water from every part of Malfoy's body.

This was bad… really bad.

_I am a line_

"Do you need help?"

Neville moved his books to Blaise's strong arms and smiled shyly. This had become their routine for these past three days and it made him really happy.

"You seriously read all these stuff? How many books do we have about gardens anyway?"

"These are not about flowers, Blaise. Pay a little more attention."

The taller boy glanced at the title on one of the covers and was surprised with what he read.

"Romance novels? Really?"

"What can I say? I love the male characters. They are always so gentle and kind. I wish Princes were real sometimes…"

Blaise felt the weird thing in his chest again. He should go to the doctor soon, this feeling was not normal for him.

"There are other people who can treat you like that…" he whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

_I am a line_

The locker room was filled with tired and sweaty boys, who just wanted a bath and a good night's sleep. Harry was standing in front of his locker, glaring at his gym clothes with his angry green eyes.

"Did you enjoy the show?"

And that guy wasn't helping his mood at all.

"Do you want to out me, Malfoy? What the hell were you thinking?" he whispered, looking around him urgently.

"You know what I really want." said Draco and licked the brunet's ear.

"Stop it! Someone may see!"

"Then let's go somewhere a little more private."

"I am not going anywhere with you!"

Draco smirked and traced Harry's side with his finger.

"Too bad…"

The Malfoy heir pecked the other boy on the lips and walked away still with a smile on his face.

Draco Malfoy was going to be the death of Harry Potter one day.

_I am a line_

Luna walked slowly towards the exit, singing quietly to herself. She was in her own little world and didn't notice the two male shadows coming towards her.

"Hi."

The girl screamed with terror but nothing bad happened to her.

"Did I scare you? I am sorry. My name is Tom and this is Colin. We are working on the school's newspaper and we saw you taking some photos of the cheerleading practice. Could we use them? We will give you full credit of course."

Luna was stunned by the sudden interest in her photos. No one took notice of her talent before and she always felt depressed about it. This was great!

"Sure! I will give some of them to you as soon as they are developed."

"Perfect. Can I ask you one more thing?"

The blond nodded happily.

"What do you know about the Patil twins?"

A/n: Hi! I don't have something to say this time so I will just thank nannily and stupidamericanidioms91 for their reviews.

Please let me know what you think about this chapter!

Bye!


	6. Chapter 6

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 6

_50 until the party_

"Come and sit with me today."

It was a simple request. Nothing impossible, nothing too crazy… just the scariest thing that anyone had ever asked Neville to do!

"Me? With the members of the SS? For lunch? At your table? Me?" the brunet asked with a trembling voice. He had never hanged out with the popular group before. Even when he was in the closet, he still was a very shy and silent person with a small number of friends around him. You could say that he was an outcast from the very beginning of his school life.

Blaise chuckled at his new friend's nervousness. That guy was really adorable!

"I don't see why not. You are my friend and I want you to sit at my table with my other friends."

Neville stared at the huge table on the other side of the room with a blank expression. So many cool people… Cool people never liked him…

"Neville always sits with me." A female voice declared and Hermione grabbed her best friend's hand and tried to drag him away.

"But today he will sit with ME. You are free to come with us of course, if it makes you more comfortable." The dark skinned boy said. He had almost forgotten about his target these past few days because he was too busy breaking down Neville's mental defenses. Maybe Draco was right, he had spent a lot of his time on the wrong person. But now he had the perfect opportunity to change that.

"Neville, do you want to go with him?"

"Yes."

"Then I won't leave you alone! Who knows what those jerks will say to you!" The girl glared at Blaise's direction for putting them in this difficult situation but followed the two boys without saying another word.

"Look what the cat dragged in! It's the nerd and the fag! How nice of you, Blaise to bring these wonderful new toys to us!"

"Padma! Be nice or you are out of here!" ordered Blaise and took his usual seat next to Draco. Neville sat on his other side with a furious Hermione next to him.

"Why did you bring them here? Don't destroy our reputation so easily for just a bet! We don't want anyone to stop respecting us." whispered Draco, trying really hard not to be heard by the others.

"It's all part of the plan."

_I am a line_

"Is that Granger? What the fuck is she doing with the SS?"

Harry covered his ears to protect them from Ron's yelling. Why did all the Weasleys have to have loud voices? Was it on their genes or something?

"You know, your sister talks to two members of the SS on daily bases and we are on the same team with half of them. I don't see you react that way then."

"This is different!"

"How?"

"It just is!" shouted Ron and walked to the 'enemy' table with angry steps. Harry rolled his eyes and followed his best friend quietly. He never understood why Ron couldn't ask the girl out already! The redhead was so stubborn, another thing that Harry blamed on his genes.

When they reached their destination Harry was reminded why he never got close to that specific table. Because at that moment Malfoy's eyes were on him as soon as he sensed the brunet's presence. Harry's body shivered with excitement from the silver stare. Oh god! Why? WHY?

"Granger! What are you doing with THEM?"

Hermione glanced at Ron and said irritated

"I am eating, can't you see that? I am allowed to eat, right?"

"Not with them!"

"What's wrong with us Weasel?" growled Blaise, standing up from his seat. "Do you want to pick a fight?"

Harry put his hand on his friend's chest to prevent him from attacking the SS King. "No, no, no! Ron and I were just leaving."

"Too scared, Potter? You can never take risks in your life, can you?"

Harry ignored the blond's comment that had clearly a deeper meaning into it and stepped back quickly. No need to bring more attention on himself.

"This is none of your business, Weasley! Leave us alone!" shouted Hermione.

"Fine, I will leave you _alone! _But don't run crying to us when one of these guys" Ron pointed at Draco and Blaise "… will reject you! Because no one wants to date a girl like you!"

"_Denial, such a wonderful thing."_ thought Harry.

"Actually…" Blaise started "If you don't mind Hermione, I would be interested in dating you."

Everyone gasped at his words and turned to Hermione for her answer.

The girl glanced at Ron's direction again and after a few seconds of thinking, said

"Why not? A girl like me needs to grasp every opportunity that shows on her way. After all no one wants to date someone like me, right? …Is this Saturday okay, Blaise?"

Blaise smirked secretly at Draco and answered happily

"Of course."

_I am a line_

Harry ran to his next class as fast as he could. He had just gone to the restroom for two minutes but some asshole spilled water on his jeans and he had to dry them with the small machine on the wall. Let's just say that it wasn't an easy thing to do.

And now he was 15 minutes late! Ms. McGonagall was going to kill him!

When he finally entered the big classroom, his eyes widened with what they saw. The only seat available was at the back and next to… you guessed it: Draco Malfoy! This was a trap!

"Mr. Potter, please sit down. Or do you want to continue disturbing my class?" said the annoyed teacher, who was standing in front of her desk with a book on her hands and her weird glasses on. That woman could be very scary but interesting at the same time. Her long grey hair was tied in a bun on the top of her head and she always wore old-fashioned dresses that made everyone laugh behind her back. But she always caught them of course. Harry respected her for her intelligence and sharp comments.

So when Minerva McGonagall ordered him to sit he obeyed her without any complain.

"Hello there, handsome. Isn't it nice to be so close to each other?" whispered the blond next to him and placed his hand on his knee.

"You are unbelievable!"

"I know but wait until you see my skills in bed. These are truly unbelievable."

Harry glared at the blackboard, too tired to fight with Malfoy again but almost jumped in the air when the hand started to move upwards.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?"

"What does it look like?"

The hand moved even higher and started unbuttoning Harry's jeans.

"Get your hands of me before I scream!"

"You wouldn't do that."

"Wanna bet?"

The hand finally completed its task and cupped the brunet's cock over his underwear.

"Stop it!"

"Is there a problem Mr. Potter?" asked McGonagall but thankfully none of the other students raised their heads from their books.

"No Miss. I was just explaining to Harry today's lesson." said Draco with a smile on his face.

"Good."

The hand was back again but this time it started stroking and squeezing. Harry's head was screaming to him _"Run, run, RUN!"_ but his body was enjoying this too much to leave. A quiet moan escaped his lips and his hips thrust forward without his permission.

"Do you like that? Feels good, doesn't it? If you become my sex-friend then I will give you the pleasure that your beautiful body truly deserves."

Harry's eyes snapped open and he shoved the pale hand away from his body.

"Enough. I can't do this anymore."

"Don't expect me to stop chasing you. That's not going to happen." whispered Draco with an unreadable look in his eyes.

"I am not asking you to… I am just too tired for these things. So… Let's make a bet. If you score more points than me on Tuesday's match then I will be yours for one night. If you don't… then you will leave me alone until we play the next game. This will last for the entire year. No cheating."

The Malfoy heir thought about it until the lesson was finished with the bell ringing urgently. But before Harry could walk away from him, he gave his final answer.

"Deal."

_I am a line_

Inside the familiar now to us locker room that day, two friends were chatting peacefully.

"You did well today, Seamus! These extra gym hours actually paid off!"

Seamus closed his locker with a loud Bang! and gave his best friend, Dean a happy smile. Yea, all his sacrifices had paid off. He felt stronger, faster and able to do everything. The scholarship was definitely his.

"I am going to ask Ginny to go out with me today." added Dean with a blush on his face.

"Are you sure? She is too busy, staring dreamily at Harry to notice you."

"Don't be mean! I feel lucky today."

"You will certainly not _get _lucky if you keep running after that whore. You had a crush on her for years now and she still rejects you! You should forget about her, mate."

"Yea like you know anything about true love, Finnigan."

"I may not be a lovesick puppy like you but I have my eyes on someone and unlike yours, my girl is actually available."

"And who is that mystery woman?"

Seamus faced Dean and after a dramatic pause, answered

"Padma Patil."

A/n: Thank you nannily and Lukakoolarigato for showing me your support again! I will try to post the next chapter soon.

Bye!


	7. Chapter 7

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 7

_49 days until the party_

The orange basketball bounced around the underground gym of the Malfoy Manor but Draco was too tired and sweaty to run after it. He had been practicing nonstop for two days now and he could almost feel his legs collapse from all this hard training. But he wasn't complaining. If this was the only way to have Potter, then it was worth it. Potter was his ultimate fantasy, the object of every single wet dream he had ever since that fateful game, so it was only natural to pay any price for having him even if it was just for one night.

"You have become obsessed with this game, Draco. You don't have to prove to anyone that you are better than Potter. You even made me give up my place on the team! We are worried about you."

The blond turned around and saw a smiling Blaise walking towards him.

"We? Let me guess… you talked to my mother."

"Of course I did and she told me that you have been down here for hours! You are a very stubborn brat, you know that?"

"Takes one to know one, buddy."

Blaise grabbed the ball and passed it to his best friend with a quick move. It was then that Draco noticed exactly what the other boy was wearing.

"Whoa! You are really trying very hard to make this date succeed, Blaise. I don't remember you wearing something like this on your first date with Padma."

Blaise spun around, presenting his outfit from every possible angle. He was wearing a simple light grey button up shirt over a pair of dark jeans and sneakers. On his left hand, he was holding his favorite black jacket.

"What's wrong with my clothes? And I was fine that day with Padma."

"You wore the most ridiculous T-shirt, I had ever seen in my life! It had these small ugly things on the back, which you may call bats but I call them black monsters."

The taller boy rolled his eyes but smirked a second later.

"You should be thankful that at least one of us is handsome enough to win this bet. If I was depending on your charming ass then the apartment would have been lost from the very beginning."

Draco threw the basketball back to Blaise, in an attempt to hit him in the face but he dodged it quickly.

"You are lucky that I have other things to work on right now. I don't have time for Granger."

"You still can't tell me what these 'things' are?"

"If I tell you then I will have to kill you." said the blond and smiled half-hearted. He could never tell Blaise about Potter. This thing had to remain a secret from everyone, if he didn't want it to ruin his life.

"Fine then. But I will find out sooner or later. You could never keep a secret from me, Dray."

"_This one will definitely make you hate me, Blaise. And I don't want you to hate me" _thought Draco with a sigh.

_I am a line_

"Hermione! Your date is here!"

Blaise gave the small bouquet to a giggling Ms. Granger and walked inside the living room with sure steps. How… tiny. This was the poorest house he had ever been in in his life. These people knew nothing about taste and elegance. How could they live like this?

He had heard from Neville that Hermione's parents were both dentists and even though they made good money by their work, they gave most of it to charity. They believed in peace, love, freedom and blah, blah, blah… Blaise never understood these kinds of people.

Loud footsteps broke his trail of thoughts and he focused on the wooden stairway on his left. Hermione came down quickly, wearing nice fitting jeans and a flowery multi-colored top. A very nervous Neville followed her downstairs and Blaise could clearly see guilt into his hazel eyes.

"Neville is coming with us." stated the girl in a serious voice. "So don't get your hopes up, rich boy. This isn't an official date, I just I agreed to it to shut Weasley up."

The SS King nodded obediently. He was expecting something like this of course from his target. She wasn't easy, like the other girls in their school and as a result to her guarded personality she never trusted anyone before she tested him and tortured him. This was Blaise's first test.

"Have fun!" shouted Hermione's mother as she closed the door behind them.

_I am a line_

"I am so sorry. She made me come with you. I would have never destroyed your date on purpose. "whispered Neville when they finally sat on the uncomfortable cinema seats. Blaise made sure to sit between the two best friends and picked a thriller for them to watch. Perfect opportunity for holding hands…

"No problem, Nev. Love your T-shirt by the way."

The brunet's eyes widened and his cheeks turned pink. This T-shirt was one of his favorites and although no one liked the bats on the back (For some reason, it scared the crap out of people.) he loved these mysterious animals. Without them it was just another plain black T-shirt.

"Thanks…" he mumbled.

"So after this, we will get some food and then go on our separate ways. Don't expect a second date any time soon." said the only girl of the trio, glaring at the movie screen with all her might. A tiny smile entered Blaise's face. He would make Hermione Granger begging to go out with him again.

The movie finally started and darkness filled the room. The SS King put his hands on either side of his chair, still with the grin on. If Hermione was scared, she could always reach for him…

As the slaughter began and most of the main cast fell dead on the big screen, disappointment filled Blaise's mind. Maybe he should have planned this, a little better. Who could have known that his target was that tough and serial killers didn't make her feel scared? On the contrary, she stood there to his right totally emotionless, chewing her pop-corn calmly. He had failed…

Suddenly the feeling of another hand grabbing his own made him sigh with relief. So Miss Granger decided to act like a normal girl after all?

Then realization struck him like lighting. The hand came from the wrong side!

He turned his head slowly, saying over and over into his head that this was impossible, but his eyes confirmed his theory. Neville was sitting there, scared to death, with his eyes closed and his hand squeezing Blaise's like it was some sort of protective shield.

As soon as he realized what he had done the brunet turned a glowing red and removed his hand, whispering

"I am so sorry. I just hate thrillers and Mione is usually the one, who holds my hand when there is a scary scene."

Blaise stood frozen, his mouth open like a dead fish's. He still couldn't believe what had just happened but his next words surprised him even more.

"You can… you can… _'cough' _you can hold my hand if you are scared. I don't mind."

The expression on Neville's face was a mixture between shock and gratitude. It was obvious that every other straight guy he had befriended avoided any physical contact with him.

"Thank you but I promise you, I won't do it again."

But he did… many times. It was like he couldn't keep his hands to himself. And the taller boy didn't speak throughout the entire movie. He was afraid that he might say something weird again like: _"You don't have to take your hand away from mine every time." _Or _"Why don't you move a little closer to me? Maybe if our shoulders touched, you would feel safer."_ and other stuff like that.

Forget about the doctor! What he really needed was an exorcism!

_I am a line_

"There they are! The lovebirds!"

Harry rolled his eyes for what seemed like the millionth time these past two days. Ron had completely lost it! He used Ginny's date with Dean as an excuse to spy on Hermione and Blaise.

When the redhead's sister had told them about Dean, Ron took his part as the overprotective brother and forced Ginny to let them come as well.

And for some unknown reason, Ginny seemed to like that idea.

So here they were, eating fast food at the most popular place on the mall and barely talking to each other until they saw the trio coming out of the theater.

"Just let them be, Ron. Please, Don't make a scene." pleaded Harry.

"Hey, Zabini!"

Why was he even trying?

"Weasley? Are you a stalker or something?" yelled Hermione, grabbing Blaise's arm quickly.

"If you want a punch in the face, Weasel you should just ask for it. Don't bully, Mione and stop being a fucking jerk!" shouted the dark skinned boy.

"Mione? MIONE? How wonderful! You use pet names for your new pet! You should treasure these moments, Granger. Who knows when you will find someone crazy enough to date you again?"

Blaise's fist collided with Ron's jaw as soon as he had finished that sentence, making everyone around them freeze in shock.

"I told you Weasel. All you had to do was ask…"

And with that he started walking away, followed by Hermione and Neville. The last thing the small group heard was Ron's voice screaming

"You won't stay together for long! I bet that you will break up within a WEEK!"

_I am a line_

"Your brother is unbelievable! He destroyed our date completely." shouted Dean with anger.

Ginny turned to him with a dazed expression on her face and said

"What date?"

"Our date! You know… the one that you and I were trying to have before your stupid brother ruined everything?"

The short girl returned her attention back to Harry's retreating back, ignoring the boy sitting across from her completely. She hoped that the brunet would return from the restroom soon. Ron didn't need someone to check on him right now.

"Ginny?"

"What?"

"Let's go somewhere else. I am sure that Ron will understand when he unlocks himself from the bathroom's stall."

Blue eyes glared the boy in front of them and their owner hissed irritated

"Listen here. I don't want to go somewhere else! I will stay here with Harry and my brother! You are free to go."

"But… we are on a date."

"Screw the date! I want Harry and only Harry, get it? You are nothing compared to him. He is a true man. This whole 'thing' that you call date, was just an attempt to make him jealous. So… go cry somewhere else because I am too tired of your emotional shit! "

Dean was ready to cry right there but he wouldn't give the bitch that satisfaction. With the little energy that he had, he stood up and ran away from the restaurant. When he was finally outside the mall, he let the first warm tears drop on his face.

_I am a line_

"Thank you…"

Blaise was surprised to hear these words coming out of Hermione's mouth. They had reached the girl's house without saying a single word to each other and now the SS King had to leave.

"For what?"

"For defending me. You didn't have to do that."

The boy smiled gently to his date and said

"No one has the right to insult a Lady like you…"

The two best friends shared a look and Neville nodded at Hermione's questioning eyes.

"Fine! Blaise, Neville and I like to study together two times a week. If you don't mind, you can also come with us."

This was perfect! He still had a chance to win this bet!

"I would love to."

The girl gave him an unexpected hug and entered her home, leaving the two boys alone.

"You are amazing." said Neville with admiration into his sparkling eyes. "I could have never done something like that. People were always mean to me but I still stayed silent. You are so brave, Blaise!"

Blaise felt pain in his heart for a moment but ignored it.

"No one will ever hurt you again. I won't let them."

Suddenly a small kiss was planted on his cheek and his eyes closed without him noticing it. Those lips felt so soft on his skin…

"Thank you."

When he opened his eyes again, Neville was gone.

A/n I wrote this in a hurry, so please forgive me if it sucks. Thank you for reviewing and for reading! I will try to post the next chapter soon.

Bye!


	8. Chapter 8

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 8

_46 days until the party _

"Good morning, Dean."

The basketball player opened his dark brown eyes at the sound of the male voice above him. He was trying to take a nap on a bench during his free period but apparently this short little dude wanted to change his plans.

"Do I know you?"

"No, but I've heard many things about you, Dean. My name is Tom."

Dean examined the boy in front of him with a calculating stare. He was clearly the geeky type of guy: plain white shirt tugged inside his brown trousers, greasy hair and the look into his eyes that said _'I am better than you, I am smarter than you."_. He never liked those kinds of people.

"And what do you want, _Tom._'"

Tom sat down next to him on the bench and without even giving Dean a single glance, said

"I heard from a very reliable source that Ginny Weasley dumped you during your date this past Saturday. Is it true?"

The taller boy stood up from his sleeping position and glared at the teen next to him. So news did travel fast in this school…

"I don't see why this has anything to do with you, dork."

"Oh, but it does… if you want to get revenge."

Dean's expression turned from angry to shocked.

"Revenge? What kind of a person do you think I am? Seeking revenge from the girl, I like for something like that! You don't even know me!"

And with that, the dark skinned boy tried to walk away but a hand on his wrist stopped him.

"I wasn't talking about Weasley. I was referring to Harry Potter."

"Harry? Why would I want to harm him?" asked Dean, still not understanding the meaning of their conversation.

"Just sit down and I will explain it to you."

Without even realizing why he did it, Dean obeyed to the other's command. He didn't notice the evil smile that entered Tom's pale face at his behavior.

"You see even though Ginny was the one, who treated you badly…" The basketball player's body shivered at the reminder of that afternoon. "…it was Potter, who kept leading her on without caring. It is quite obvious that the girl really likes him. Why doesn't he explain to her that he's not interested? Can't he see how much he makes her unable to move on? I think that he just enjoys the fact that she is practically glued to him. He loves the attention… without having to be tied down into a relationship of course. Don't you think that that's a little unfair for Ginny and for anyone else, who is interested in her, like yourself?"

Tom's words echoed inside Dean's mind like the songs, which are horrible but get stuck in your head for weeks. It was true… Harry was leading Ginny on. All these years he never told her to stop following him or that he didn't like her. He was the reason why she couldn't go out with anyone but him. If he is not interested, he should just tell her!

The anger that the dark skinned boy was feeling earlier was reborn at full force. But this time it was directed to someone else.

"Let's say that I actually want revenge. What do you gain from this?"

The smile on Tom's face grew into a full smirk.

"Let's just say then that by hurting Potter, I hurt someone I really hate. Our goals may be different, Dean Thomas, but the way to achieve them is the same. Tell me your decision when you are ready."

This time it was Dean who grabbed Tom's wrist.

"What do you need me to do?"

_I am a line_

"Welcome, students to the first game for the annual school's basketball championship! Our teams for today are the Silver Snakes of Hogwarts High School…" Cheers and shouts sounded inside the gym with the light brown walls and the dark blue stands. "… And the Wild Tigers of Red Hill's High! May the best one win!"

"Blaise? What are you doing here? Aren't going to play as well?"

The boy in question turned his attention away from the court and glanced at the person sitting next to him. He hadn't realized that Neville was the one beside him until the other boy's voice broke his trail of thoughts. Then he saw that the brunet was wearing only blue clothes that day. Blue shirt, dark blue jeans and a blue Silver Snake's scarf that hid a big part of his face.

"_You are so cute!"_ "Blaise's was tempted to say but he bit his tongue before the words could reach his mouth. Things like that were so easy to say when he was around Neville. It was very tiresome!

"I am pretending to be injured. Draco wanted to play really bad today so he asked me a favor. I could never say no to him."

"You are really close, huh?"

"Of course we are. Draco has been there for me in the most difficult situations of my life. I never told you this before, Nev but my father died when I was just a baby. My mother changes lovers faster than she changes her dresses. I really needed a family and Draco and his parents gave me that."

"That's so sweet. Hermione was like that for me. My parents… they couldn't raise me. They died while they were trying to save from a fire. They secured me with their bodies but the injuries were far too serious to let them survive. I grew up with my grandmother."

Blaise's gave Neville a one armed hug without thinking too much about it. He wanted, no he needed to comfort his friend. It was the noble thing to do.

"Come on let's talk about something a little more pleasant. Where is Hermione?"

The hazel eyed teen raised his head and looked around him.

"She was supposed to get us some soda but she should have been back by now…"

_I am a line_

"Weasley, I am a very busy person. So I am warning you again: Let Me Go before I Scream!"

Hermione was trying really hard to get free from Ron's strong grip but the redhead held her arms tightly.

"Not until you tell what exactly you see in the Silver bastard!"

When she heard that, the short girl stopped struggling and her eyes started sparkling.

"Why do you care? Are you jealous?"

Ron's face became even paler than it already was but his hands didn't release Hermione yet.

"I… of course I am not! Why would I be jealous? I don't like you!"

The boy's shock gave Hermione the perfect opportunity for her attack. So she got closer to him with slow steps and looked him straight in the eyes. Her angry expression gave place to a completely innocent one and she spoke in a quiet and seductive voice, biting her lip between every word.

"Are you sure about that?"

Ron melted by her low whisper and her beautiful eyes but before he could lean forward, she continued

"I am sorry… but I am not interested in assholes like you!"

And with that she pushed him away from her body and ran away.

_I am a line_

"Potter!"

Harry was ready to walk out on the court when Malfoy's voice stopped him. It was weird to wear the Silver Snakes' uniform when a year ago they were the enemy of his team. The clothes weren't something special, just the usual basketball outfit in a dark blue color with each member's number and name on the back with silver letters.

"What do you want?"

"Can't I talk to my playmate for a moment?"

"No."

Draco ignored the rude comment and leaned forward to whisper softly into his captain's ear.

"I just wanted to remind you of our bet. After tonight, you are mine."

Harry jerked away and without saying anything more, headed to the court quickly.

And finally the game began…

But… no one understood what the fuck was going on!

Instead of trying to take the ball away from the rival team, the two star players of the Silver Snakes were almost playing against each other! It was like watching a one-on-one match! Everyone was too stunned to do anything to stop it and since this type of playing was helping his team win, Coach Lupin didn't even want to change the situation.

It was a true battle but instead of guns and swords, the weapon was a normal looking basketball.

Draco was putting his soul into the game. Potter was an equal to him, a great challenge to his skill and strength. He was truly his perfect match, his opponent, his rival at everything.

And now he had to make sure that he would also be his lover.

So Draco did his best, he played with a passion that he never had before but still the distance between their scores remained the same. Just one point… one point was all that he needed to win.

Before you knew it, the time had run out. Only seconds were left for the game to finish and Theo, for the first time in the whole match, had the ball into his arms. All he had to do now was pass it to someone else.

On the other side of the court, Harry was standing at the right spot to make the perfect shot but so was Draco. Being so close to each other, the blond could faintly smell the natural scent of the shorter boy, he could even bite his delicious neck with just a simple move if he wanted to… and he really wanted to, he wanted to do it so badly.

But suddenly the ball was heading their way. Out of instinct, he ran to catch with both of his hands and when he achieved that, he scored the last and winning points for the game. He had won! He won!

When he turned to see Potter's reaction, he was surprised to see him at the exact same spot, he was before. He didn't even try to run for the ball himself. Why?

Draco's eyes widened. Potter had just let him win. Harry had just surrendered.

He was finally his.

_I am a line_

The hot water made his tired body relax and his muscles hurt a little less. What had he done? Letting Malfoy win the bet that easily… Was he the one who was insane?

Harry planted his fist into the wall, not caring about the pain that was going to come later. This was ridiculous! He just gave himself to the brat without even thinking about it. And now he was going to be another one of his one-offs. No emotion, no love, just sex. He hated himself and his urges for making him so weak to the pleasures of the flesh, which only Malfoy knew how to give. He felt so powerless.

Suddenly the door to his shower opened and someone walked in. Harry didn't need to look to know who it was.

"You won but I don't want to do it in here. We are still inside the school after all."

Strong arms circled his waist from behind, bringing him closer to a still clothed chest. A head fell on his shoulder and he felt a pair of cold lips against his throat, leaving small kisses at his wake. Malfoy had never been this gentle before…

"Draco…"

"Shhh. I won't do anything. Just… let me hold you without fighting back."

A shiver crossed Harry's body but he couldn't stop himself from saying

"Your clothes will get wet."

"I don't care. Let's stay like this for a while."

The brunet relaxed into the other's embrace and placed his hands against the ones on his waist. He squeezed them reassuringly and closed his eyes without arguing again.

Neither of them noticed the small flash of a camera to their right.

A/n: Hi! Me again! I will not have much time these days to write but I will try to update as fast as I did before. Thank you for reading!

Nannily: I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reviewing every time! I t makes me want to continue writing this story.

Please leave me more reviews! I was thinking of pairing Tom with someone but I don't know which character to use. If you have a suggestion, please let me know!

Bye!


	9. Chapter 9

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 9

_43 days until the party_

The days after the game pasted calmly, without something interesting happening. All this time made the students forget about the unusual strategy of their team and after gossiping about it for hours, even talking about the events of that day became boring. Everyone returned to their daily routines, including our little heroes.

But five phone calls that Friday afternoon were going to change that.

_I am a line_

Blaise was lying on his bed, staring at its light green ceiling with nothing to do. He and Draco had decided years ago to paint the walls of both of their room's green, to remind them of their days in summer camp. The different shades of that color were a way to make you believe that you were inside of a forest, lying under its leaves. It was very relaxing.

His cell phone rang urgently to the latest rock beat and he pick it up without looking the caller's ID.

"Hello?"

"_Blaise? Is that you?"_

Neville! Neville was calling him! He had never called before. Why was he so excited about it?

The dark skinned boy stood up from his bed and started pacing around his bedroom. He needed to do something! For some reason he couldn't stay still while Neville was on the other side of the line. His voice was making his whole body feel like small ants were crawling all over it.

"Yea… it's me, Nev."

"_Oh thank god! For a moment I thought that I got the number wrong. How are you?"_

'_I feel like my heart is going to explode! And I don't know why.'_ Was Blaise's first thought but in the end he said

"I am fine."

"_Good. I wanted to tell you about tomorrow. Hermione has to go to her grandma's house with her parents, so it will be just you and me. You don't mind that, do you?"_

"Not at all. Where we will meet?"

"_At my house. You have the address, right?"_

"Yes."

"_Okay! See you tomorrow at eight then. Bye!"_

"Bye…" whispered Blaise and fell on his bed again. This was getting ridiculous. He was acting like a little girl with a crush. It was just Neville! Just another guy!

And he liked girls, he liked girls, he liked GIRLS!

_I am a line_

The sunset was really beautiful from his balcony. He could stare at its wonderful colors for hours. This perfect masterpiece reminded him that no painter, or sculptor, or even a photographer could capture the true magic of mother-nature. So he just stayed still and let himself be filled with the almost magical sensations around him.

"Mr. Theodore. There is a phone call for you."

But alas he wasn't able to enjoy his alone time for long. Patrick, the house's butler, an old man who had stayed with his family for more than a decade, came to disturb him.

"Who is it?"

"It's Miss Samantha, sir."

The tall boy sighed and took the phone from the man's pale hands. He gestured to him to go away and when he made sure that he was alone he answered the phone with a bored tone.

"Good afternoon, Samantha. I suppose you called for your daily check?"

"_Of course, I did. You know that it's part of your therapy."_

Theo turned his eyes to the sunset again and said

"I am okay…"

"_You don't have any weird urges, do you? Nothing out of the ordinary? Was everything okay at school today as well?"_

"No, no and yes. Like I said before I am fine."

"_Your parents are really worried about you. They told me that you barely speak to each other anymore."_

"I just need some time to gather my thoughts. Don't worry I won't try to kill myself again. I have learned my lesson."

"_I hope you did… We will talk more during our session on Monday. I want to know exactly why you want to be left alone."_

"You know better. After all you are the therapist, Sam. Not me."

"_I am also your aunt so please don't hide things from me. It was awful to see you in that hospital bed, darling."_

"I promised you! It won't happen again."

"'_Sigh' Fine. I won't bother you anymore __today__ but I will call tomorrow. Be safe until then."_

"I will."

_I am a line_

"Harry, pass me the ball! I am open!"

The green eyed teen laughed at his best friend's behavior. They were at the Weasley's back yard, playing soccer and spending some quality time together before Ron would leave to visit Charlie, one of his five older brothers. His family was really huge! And they were all redheads of course.

"Ron! There is no one else here. Who is going to block you?"

"That's not the point right now! We are playing for fun so let me have some fun!"

At that exact moment, Harry's cell buzzed inside his pocket but when he saw who was calling him he paled.

"What's wrong, mate?" asked the other boy with worry and curiosity.

"N-Nothing. I have to answer this. Wait for me here."

Harry walked away from his friend and hit the receive button.

"Um… hello?"

The cold voice into his ear didn't surprise him one bit.

"_I hope you didn't forget about our deal, Potter. I still haven't claimed my reward yet. Meet me by the Moonlight hotel at eight tomorrow night. Don't be late."_

And then of course Malfoy hanged up.

"Harry?"

The brunet was stunned by Ron's voice so close to him. Wasn't he supposed to wait for him back at the goal post?

"Mate, this is not normal. You are spacing out all day, you don't even listen to half of the things that people say to you and now this mysterious phone call. You know I am okay with you being gay and all so if you got yourself a boyfriend, please let me know. I won't judge you. It's only natural to want to find someone."

"Ron… I… I don't have a boyfriend."

"Then who was calling you right now?"

'_The truth.'_ Thought Harry _'I will tell him the truth. I am too tired to keep this a secret from him now.'_

"It was Malfoy."

"Malfoy? Draco Malfoy? The SS King, Malfoy?"

Harry nodded at his best friend's questions.

"And what did he want from you? Is he bulling you? Because if he is, I am going to kick his ass!"

On second thought, maybe the truth was not the best idea at the moment. The bet and the sexual harassment were too much for a guy like Ron to handle. So Harry decided to tell part of it.

"He… he knows about me. And… please don't tell anyone about this but… he is just like me and he needs to talk about it. He is a little confused, that's why he needs my help."

Ron froze like a statue, his eyes became the size of the white ball on the grass below him and his mouth opened to the size of a small 'o'. When he finally regained his senses, he started screaming.

"What? WHAT? He is gay? Unbelievable! This is crazy! Draco Malfoy likes to suck dick? I can't believe it!"

"Ron, please don't tell anyone! Promise me! If you talk to someone about this then they might find out about me. And you know that I don't want to do that yet. Not after what happened back then."

"But…"

"Please, Ron!"

"Fine! I promise you, as your best friend, I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you."

"But how did he know about you?" asked the redhead, still in a haze.

Harry's mind worked fast.

"He… he saw me that one time I went to a gay bar."

"Huh. I told you that that place wasn't safe."

"I know but it happened and… now he wants some advice. Can we please not talk about it anymore?"

Ron sighed heavily at the request. "Fine…"

They started walking back to the house silently. Ron's mind was still clouded with unanswered questions after the revelation about Malfoy's sexuality. Was he telling the truth? Maybe he was lying to Harry to out him later! But even if all this was true, why did he turn to his rival for advice? Why didn't he run to his little friend, Zabini?

This whole situation was very suspicious and Ron wasn't going to let it stay that way.

_I am a line_

'_This dress looks awful on me.' _was the main thought inside Pansy's head as she was looking at herself in the full length mirror of her favorite store. She needed a shopping therapy now that everything wasn't going so well with her life.

Her personal 'diet' wasn't working! She threw up after every meal but still nothing happened. She felt a little weak of course but it was a small price compared to the results, she wanted to have. A fit body was her answer to all of her problems: Draco's coldness, the fear of losing the leadership of her cheerleaders and also …

Before she could finish her counting her cell phone started ringing in a happy tone.

"This is Pansy speaking."

"_Hello Pansy. It's Ginny. Ginny Weasley."_

What the fuck did she want now?

"Hi. Do you need something? I have other stuff to do right now."

"_Don't be rude, Pans. I know that you don't like me but you don't have to be so hostile. I only want to make a truce between us. We don't have to fight about which one of us is better when the answer is quite obvious. Let's be friends! "_

Yea, right… The only truce Pansy would make with the redhead whore will be after her death or at least her disappearance.

"You are not allowed to call me like that, Weasley. Only my friends can call me Pans and last time I checked you weren't and never will be one of them. But I am glad that you realized my superiority. I will always be better than you."

"_You aren't this horrible to me when Padma is around…"_

"And I will never be. My brain, unlike yours, knows how to act politely without actually meaning it. But how could you know about good manners, you poor child? The only thing that your mother taught you was how to run after boys like a little bitch in heat."

"_You will never talk about my mother like that again! What was I thinking? Trying to make peace with a spoiled Ice Queen like you! You will regret your decision, Parkinson! I will take everything away from you."_

"Boo hoo. I am sooo afraid. Call me again when you achieve that, which will probably be never!"

Pansy hit the end button quickly and threw her pink phone back in her pulse.

"It still looks awful on me!" she whispered and headed back to the dressing room to change.

_I am a line_

The final phone call happened in the middle of the night. Tom Riddle was fast asleep when the private phone of his room woke him up with its ringing. Not many people knew about it but his parents were both from two very rich families and even though his mother wasn't alive anymore and his father never loved him, he was still raised within the walls of a mansion.

"Why are you calling me this late, Colin?"

"_I found it! It's all over the old newspapers! You were right!"_

The boy couldn't control a smile from splitting his face in half.

"Perfect! Two down, three to go. We have to work fast if we want to gather enough information for our final attack."

"_What should I do with the photos that Dean gave me from the locker room? Are we going to use them now?"_

"Be patient. We will reveal everything at the end. We don't want to make them start suspecting us… They will all fall at the same time so that we can see the look on their faces when they will realize that their golden days are over."

"_You are so smart, Tom!"_

"I know. Goodnight, Colin. Good job."

"_Good night!"_

A/n: Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews Lukakoolarigato, nannily and Addiline!

I will try to post the next chapter soon and I am writing something else on the side.

Bye!


	10. Chapter 10

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 10

_42 days until the party_

"You are going out, Blaise?"

That voice… Oh, how he hated that voice. Who could have known that one day, the woman who gave birth to him would become his worst nightmare? The person he would like to see the least every day?

It wasn't because of her appearance. Not at all. Sharon Zabini was a beautiful woman, with a sharp mind by her side. She had shiny black hair that reached her waist, eyes blue like the cloudless sky and skin a few shades lighter than Blaise's.

Gossips flied around her like the insects around dead meat, eating everything that was vital for her along with her son's happiness. They called her the Black Widow because just like the spider, she 'killed' her husbands after mating or in her case marrying them. Three innocent men, included Blaise's father, got caught into her deadly web these past twenty five years and each one of them died in the most unusual ways.

No evidence was ever found to connect Ms. Zabini to their deaths but Blaise would always blame her for losing his dad at the age of three.

"Yes."

Sharon smiled softly, showing her wonderful white teeth.

"Are you going to see a girl? Is that why you have been standing in front of the mirror for an hour now?"

Blaise turned around and glared at his mother's general direction, without even trying to look at her in the eye. She was right about the mirror thing but he only did that because he wanted to make a good impression on Neville's grandmother. That was all! And his dark purple shirt had nothing to do with the fact that the other boy loved that color. Nothing!

"Did you decide to actually act like a mother, Sharon?"

"I am your mother, my child. No matter how much you hate it, I will always be your only true family." She said without a trace of anger in her voice. It was as if knowing that her only son hated her didn't bother her at all.

"Family? Do you even know the meaning of the word, _mother_? Go already! Your flavor of the week is waiting for you outside. Or isn't that the reason you bought this new dress?"

"You are very observant, sweetheart, but this dress isn't new. Do you like it? It was a gift from your father."

It was a wonderful dress, no one could argue with that. Black with little diamonds on it, a perfect fit for its owner's personality and figure. No man could resist a woman like that. She barely looked thirty.

"I don't care. Dad bought you a lot of things before you sent him to his death."

This time Sharon's stoic expression changed to an angry one. "For the last time, I didn't murder your father! I loved him!"

"Then love should be the next thing on your list after the meaning of the word family. So many stuff to learn, so little time for a busy person like you… But look here! I am going to be late! Have fun with your boy-toy, _mum_."

And just like that, Blaise left his house with sadness in his soul.

_I am a line_

"The green shirt or the blue one, Sparkle? Which one is better?"

The tall Broholmer dog on the carpet waved her brown tail happily and barked at her master's question. Her brown sparkling eyes followed his frantic movements with interest and amusement, as if they were playing a game.

"You are right. Who cares? It's not like I am going on a date with him."

"I think that a grey one would be better, my dragon. It brings out the color of your eyes."

Draco was startled by the warm voice but when he saw the blond woman at the doorway, he sighed with relief.

"Mum! How many times have I told you, knock before you enter! You have taught me all about good manners and the importance of the rules in a household yet you still don't follow any of them!"

Narcissa Malfoy walked inside her son's bedroom, trying really hard to avoid the piles of clothing on the dark green carpet. The once clean space was now filled with multicolored fabrics and shoes. She petted Sparkle's head lovingly and spoke her next words in a calm tone, ignoring Draco's accusations.

"Are you trying to bury yourself under all these clothes, Draco? I can't even recognize your room anymore."

"Ha, ha! Very funny! I am trying to find something to wear."

"Are you dressing up for someone special?"

"…No. I am just staying over at Blaise's tonight."

The woman smiled secretly at her son's hesitation and obvious lying but before she left him alone again, she whispered

"Wear the grey shirt with the black waistcoat, I gave you last Christmas. I am sure, _he_ will love it."

_I am a line_

Three hard knocks on the door made Hermione stand up from her seat and ran to the door. Her grandmother was sleeping peacefully on the sofa, clearly too tired to even move to her bedroom.

A handsome redhead man was waiting for her on the doorstep, holding a large box in his arms. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt and jeans but both of his ears were pierced and his hair had some dark blond highlights on them. These little details were the ones that made him extraordinary and interesting to look at. They were the ones that gave him his unique beauty. For some reason his face reminded Hermione of someone else but she couldn't remember exactly who it was.

"Good afternoon, Miss. My name is Charlie. I live across the street from here and someone dropped two packages for Ms. Granger in my front yard by mistake. Can we leave them here?"

The girl didn't notice the 'we' of the question and opened the door wider for the young man to enter. But when she saw the person behind him, she closed it again, hitting Charlie straight in the face.

"Granger! Open the door right NOW! You almost broke my brother's head! I think you left him unconscious! Open the door!" screamed Ron from the other side of the wooden surface. So that's why the guy's face seemed so familiar to her.

"Granger!"

"Hermione? What is going on, dear?"

Great! Her grandmother just woke up! This situation was getting worse and worse by the second.

"Granger you bitch!"

And things just couldn't get any more awkward.

The old woman gestured to her granddaughter to move away and after re-opening the door, she started yelling.

"Watch your language, young man! You shouldn't call a… Oh my god! What happened to Charlie?"

Ron smirked and pointed at Hermione's direction.

"Ask her!"

_I am a line_

"Sirius, answer the phone, I know you are in there. Stop being lazy!… Fine! Since you decided to stay in bed, I will leave a message. I am staying at Seamus's tonight so don't worry about me. I will be back home tomorrow morning. Oh! And I borrowed your green shirt. Bye."

Harry ended the call and turned off his cell phone. No need to take any unnecessary risks now. His godfather was an easy going person but in dangerous times, he could turn into a very overprotective and annoying guardian angel. Especially when Harry borrowed his favorite things…

But right now, that wasn't important. What really mattered was to end this stupid game, which haunted his nightmares once and for all. All he had to do was sleep with Malfoy and everything would turn back to normal. No more inappropriate touching, no more fearing that someone might find out about him and especially no more Draco Malfoy. Because after tonight it will be all over between them. That's why he was heading to the Moonlight hotel right now, that's why he felt so nervous…

"Right on time, Potter. Did you want to see me that badly?"

The brunet gave the arrogant git in front of him his best death glare but didn't say anything.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"Let's just get this over with, Malfoy." Said Harry and walked into the small hotel without looking back.

Draco followed his soon to be lover inside the building quietly. These kinds of places weren't his style at all. He had been raised in a world full of luxury and finesse, somewhere where cheap furniture, dirty walls and bad taste weren't acceptable. So it was only natural for him to feel disgusted, when he glanced around him and found exactly that! But even if he hated this place, it gave him the best cover he could find, away from the prying eyes of his friends and family.

"I never asked you this but, how are you going to pay for the room?" asked Harry in a low voice, not even bothering to examine the decoration of the lobby.

"With my allowance money?" tried to answer the Malfoy heir with a confused expression on his face.

"Of course! What else?"

"_Why didn't I think of that? His parents are rich. I bet that with all these money he could rent a room here for a month or even a year!" _thought Harry irritated with himself for asking such a stupid question.

After paying the two boys used the small elevator next to the reception and then walked together silently to their room on the second floor. Draco was pleasantly surprised to find everything clean and well arranged. It was a simple but large room with a double bed in the middle and a window that led to a tiny balcony. The only light available was the one just above the metallic headboard of the bed, a lamp in the shape of a big tulip.

Without any warning, the blond started stripping quickly, throwing his clothes at every possible direction.

"What are you doing?" yelled Harry, surprised by this sudden development.

"I am taking my clothes off. You can't have sex with them on."

"Yea but just like that? You just strip and do it? Aren't you acting like… an animal?"

The blond froze by the other's questions. It couldn't be…

"Is this… your first time?"

The shorter boy blushed like a red bulb, which had just been turned on. His whole body started shaking from the nerves and his palms became sweaty.

"What did you expect? I am not a man-whore like you! I-I wanted to have a relationship before I could let someone touch me."

Draco, who had just his black boxers on now, sat on the bed with the white covers and tried really hard to process this new information in his head without any success. Potter was a virgin? No one else had ever touched him? He would be his first?

This made him so… happy!

"Malfoy?"

"Yes?" said Draco and raised his head so that their eyes could meet. The fear he saw within the emerald green orbs scared him a little.

"Did I say something wrong? Should I start undressing too?"

"No. Come here."

Without realizing why he did it, Harry obeyed to Draco's request and stepped right in front of him, without breaking eye contact. It was as if these grey eyes had the power to control him with their intensity. Like they could make him do anything…

"Harry… I have never slept with a man before, so technically this is my first time as well. The only person I had ever been with like that was Pansy and it was such a chore for me that it barely counts as sex. I want you, I really do but I won't cause you pain to have you. I will try really hard to make this feel good for you too." Draco caressed Harry's cheek softly and after placing a small kiss on his lips, he whispered against them "I want to make you scream with pleasure. I want to burn this moment into your mind so that no one else could ever satisfy you like I will do tonight. I want you to remember me forever."

The brunet's breath was caught in his throat by the unexpected declaration. Even if there wasn't love between them, all this need and passion made him unable to say no to Malfoy. Because this was the first time in his whole life that someone had confessed such strong feelings for him. Even if it wasn't love… it was something real, something pure.

And that was enough for him at the end. Because tomorrow morning everything would be over…

"Then do it. No one is stopping you anymore. You won."

That was all, Draco needed to hear. He kissed Harry hard, putting all his might to the kiss and trying to restrain himself from pushing the other boy onto the mattress. He had to take it slow. Without any pressure.

"_Take it slow, Draco. Take it slow, take it slow, take it… Oh god, I can't do this!"_

Harry's world turned upside down as he was thrown on the bed forcefully. He didn't have much time to realize exactly what was going on before a warm body was laying on top of him and familiar now lips were on his again. He moaned shamelessly into the kiss and raised his hands to grasp Draco's back tightly.

Cold fingers unbuttoned his shirt one at a time, mirroring the movements of the sinful tongue, which moved in and out of his mouth in a slow rhythm.

The jeans were next. Slowly but steady they joined the green shirt on the floor, leaving him with only his dark grey briefs.

"I liked your outfit but this suits you better." Said Draco but before he could remove the final piece of fabric between their bodies, Harry stopped him.

"Could you turn off the light? Please?"

Then everything became dark, after a small click.

_I am a line_

"Here we are… Please ignore the mess. Hermione's cat thinks that he can use every shiny thing, he finds, as a toy. She asked me to keep an eye on him during her absence but he is driving me crazy!"

Blaise walked into Neville's bedroom with determination but almost fainted by the beautiful smell of the flowers around him. They were everywhere! On the light yellow walls, by the windows, next to the heavy desk… everywhere! Flowers in all kinds of shapes and sizes were decorating the small space with their amazing and bright colors.

"Isn't it unhealthy for you to sleep next to all these plants?"

"I don't sleep here, silly. My actual bedroom is behind this door over there." Neville pointed to the wooden door behind Blaise's stunned figure. "I just use this room to grow my plants and to study. These windows have the best view in the entire house. You can see the mountains from here."

Of course you could. Because Neville's parents were rich and rich people could build their home in the most popular locations. That's what wealthy people did: they bought their desires and dreams to make their lives easier and happier. Blaise knew that very well.

That's why he could never understand Hermione's parents. Why waste all your money on charity when you can have something like this? Charity was important too of course but why did you have to deny from your own children, your flesh and blood the chance to live like a King (or at least a Duke)?

"Okay let's start with… Math! Hermione is better than me in this subject but I will try to help you as much as I can. Did you bring your notes?"

"Yes." Answered the taller boy, who was still examining every interesting detail, he could find inside the room.

Neville laughed at his friend's childish behavior and smacked him playfully on the head with a textbook.

"Hey, pay attention! You have come here to study not to take mental pictures of my little garden. Focus!"

So that's what Blaise did. He focused on their work, asking questions when he needed help, solving the easiest problems quickly and trying to impress the other boy with his intelligence. Not because he wanted Neville's approval (nope that was definitely not the reason.) but because through him his target would learn about his skills and talents.

Everything was going so well… until Nev decided that sitting a little closer to the SS King and placing his head against the other's strong shoulder so that he could see his answers better was a good idea. Well it wasn't.

Because at that exact moment Blaise became aware of all the things that made Neville… Neville. His scent, masculine and so hypnotizing, that it turned his legs into Jell-O. His skin, warm and soft, like the petals of the flowers around them. And finally his voice, low and melodic, that echoed wonderfully within the silence of the room. This was torture. A torture designed by a very sadistic person.

"Blaise? Are you listening to me?"

He couldn't control his body anymore. His brain must have been exploded somewhere along the way because the next thing he could remember was the feeling of lips against his own and the wonderful pressure of a leg against his groin. How did they end up on the floor again?

"Blaise…"

His name had never sounded this erotic before. And the breathless moans that followed it, were like music into his ears. He wouldn't mind listening to it every day.

"Blaise… s-stop…"

He moved his mouth to the delicious-looking neck and sucked the pale skin until he made sure that it would leave a mark.

"Stop…"

This was amazing! He had to taste more, he had to feel more, to…

"STOP!"

Neville pushed the taller boy away from him and stared at him with wide hazel eyes.

"Why did you do that? You like Hermione. You want to date her! Why did you… kiss me?"

And that's when reality finally caught up with Blaise's mind. What had he just done? This could destroy everything!

"I-I… I don't know why. I…I have to go!"

So he ran out of the room, without caring about his stuff and the confused person he left behind.

_I am a line_

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes."

A small kiss was placed against a tanned neck and pale hands massaged the brunet's back in an attempt to calm him down.

"Relax. I won't move until you ask me to."

Groans of pain were the only noises inside the dark hotel room for a few minutes but then a whisper stopped them completely.

"Move."

_I am a line_

"Padma? What a lovely coincidence! I didn't expect to see you here. It must be destiny."

The girl with the black hair put her cup of coffee back on the table and said

"I don't think it was. You followed me here."

Seamus sat on the empty seat opposite to Padma's and smiled. This small café gave him the perfect opportunity to talk to the cheerleader and learn more about her. He had heard from the boys in the locker room that capturing her attention was a very difficult thing to do, especially when she was in a bad mood. She was exactly his type.

"Then it must be destiny that made me follow you here."

"Are you stupid, Finnigan?"

"No, I was just blinded by your beauty. I can't even concentrate anymore."

The corners of Padma's mouth twitched for a second but remained in their place at the end.

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"At least I tried. You can't blame me for trying."

"No… I can't."

Their little chat was interrupted by a girlish scream.

"Padma! We need to go. Mia won't be waiting for us forever!"

"Mia?" wondered Seamus at loud.

"Our manicurist. I am sorry but I can't stay and enjoy your awful flirting right now. See you at school."

When the cheerleader reached her best friend, she was attacked by Pansy's questioning stare.

"What were you doing with Finnigan?"

Padma glanced over her shoulder to the now empty table and answered

"I think that he likes me, Pansy. My life just got a little more interesting."

_I am a line_

"Oh my god! Yes! Right there!"

Two long arms grabbed the black bars of the headboard in need to find something to give their owner enough leverage to push back. The blond was definitely trying to kill him with his slow pace.

"You are such a needy whore, baby."

"I am… still… not… your baby!"

_I am a line_

"Hermione apologize to Charlie and Ron. Your behavior was unacceptable."

Unbelievable. She had to apologize to the jerk now? Her grandmother was cruel.

"I am sorry."

The older Weasley gave her a warm smile, still holding the ice pack tightly against his forehead. Ron on the other hand smirked winningly.

"Don't worry. This is nothing compared to the injuries, I get with the crocodiles." stated Charlie, the smile never leaving his face. Hermione was glad that he wasn't angry with her. It was all, his brother's fault! Of all the days he could have visited him he picked the worst one.

"Mione? Could you please move these boxes in the back room? We can't let Charlie, do It." asked Miss Granger in a sweet voice.

"I will help her." offered Ron and stood up from the comfortable couch. He picked up one of the boxes, flexing his strong arms at the girl's direction. Hermione rolled her eyes. That boy's ego was massive.

But when they were finally alone in the back room the yelling began.

"YOU BASTARD! You are actually enjoying this!"

"Of course I do! It's nice to see a COLD HEARTED WITCH like you begging for forgiveness!"

"You are lucky that my grandma is outside or you would have been the one with the ice pack on the head!"

"Ha! The only place where you can actually beat me is in your dreams!"

"GET OUT!"

"WITH PLEASURE!"

Ronald Weasley stormed out of the room and almost ran outside but not before saying to his brother

"Charlie, I will meet you back in the house."

_I am a line_

The entire second floor of the Moonlight hotel was disturbed by the loud moans and screams from the room at the end of its only hallway. The customers also complained about the constant banging on the wall and the creaking of a bed that was about to collapse. For three hours straight the inappropriate noises continued until finally the two male voices announced their last release.

"Harder! I am almost there! Please just a little more!"

"Oh Harry, Harry, HARRY! I am gonna cum!"

"DRACO!"

_I am a line_

Harry was sleeping peacefully on the bed, using Draco's chest as a pillow, but the blond couldn't close his eyes yet. Not after the most amazing experience of his life.

How could he return to a world without making love to this perfect human being? He couldn't even imagine his day without a single kiss from his former rival now. It was impossible!

He hugged the small body lazily and sighed with content. He would never let go of him again not while he loved the other boy so much.

…

...What?

Loved?

LOVED?

…

It all made sense now…

_I am a line_

It was still dark outside when Harry woke up from his dreamless sleep. He untangled himself slowly from Malfoy's strong embrace and after gathering his clothes and dressing up, he walked out of the room as quietly as possible.

"Game over, Draco Malfoy."

A/n: This is by far the biggest chapter I have ever written. Sorry for the delay.

Now to your reviews:

Nannily: I am glad that you liked my last chapter. I hope you liked this one as well.

Lupin7691: Your review confused me a little. I am guessing that you were talking about _the bastard child_ when you said that you have already read my other h/d story but its storyline is complete. I posted the epilogue a few weeks ago. Do you have unanswered questions? Wasn't it obvious that the story was finished?

I am not against writing a sequel (and if anyone of you wants me to continue, please leave a review at _the bastard child's _page) but I want to understand why you thought that there wasn't an ending.

Thank you for your kind words and for showing me your support though! I will try really hard to make this story as interesting as the bastard child was.

Bye!


	11. Chapter 11

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 11

_36 days until the party_

_Meet me by the pool in ten minutes._

Finally! After almost a week of waiting, Harry decided to talk to him about Saturday night. Draco had given the other boy enough time to think and decide his next move without any pressure. It wasn't easy but it had to be done.

But now he didn't have to wait anymore, because the former Golden Lion had sent him this small note with a younger student. He wanted to see him! Maybe he wanted to do it in the water this time. It would be dangerous but… hot.

The blond walked to the school's pool happily and with a smile on his face. All this time apart had made his body and his heart hurt. He had to see him, to touch him for just a moment, to feel his skin against his fingertips. Damn! Love was ruining him.

Unfortunately when he reached his destination, he found no one there. He searched frantically for his lover, turning his head to every possible direction. Where was he?

The sound of a splash surprised Draco and suddenly a black-haired head appeared on the surface of the water. But the face that followed it wasn't the one he wanted to see.

"Pansy?"

The girl smirked and walked closer to the edge of the pool. She stepped out of the water slowly, showing her body to her ex-boyfriend little by little. She was wearing a small yellow swimsuit, which matched her skin tone perfectly. Her eyes had a weird fire in them…

"Hello, Draco…"

…and her voice was low and seductive.

"Pansy, have you lost your mind?" asked Draco with disappointment. So it wasn't Harry, who had sent him the note after all. How depressing, no pool sex!

"I have never been better, Dray. Do you like my new figure? It's not finished yet but I am working really hard to become the perfect girlfriend for you."

Draco examined Pansy with calculating eyes. She looked different, thinner but not in a good way. Her bones were showing in all the wrong places, her arms and legs reminded him of chopsticks and her head seemed too big for her body.

"What have you done?" he whispered warningly.

"I changed… for you, because I love you."

"Pansy, that's ENOUGH! Are you trying to kill yourself? This is not normal!"

The cheerleader walked to him and pressed her hands against his clothed chest. She raised her head so that she could look at him straight in the eyes and pouted. She always did that to get out of trouble.

"Don't you want me anymore? Why are you so cold towards me? You weren't like this before."

"_She is crazy!" _Thought Draco and pushed the small hands away from his body. They left two wet spots on his baby blue T-shirt. _"I have to get out of this mess!" _

"You are trying to change the subject but I will let you. There is only one answer to your questions. Do you want to know what it is?"

Pansy nodded without taking her eyes away from Draco's face.

"I like someone else."

The fire instantly disappeared from her eyes and she took two steps backwards.

"W-W-What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious? I am breaking up with you, for real this time. You don't have to become the perfect girlfriend for me anymore. Try to move on."

The silence that followed Draco's declaration was awkward and disturbing. Pansy was just standing there, speechless, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly and staring blankly into the empty space behind Draco's ear.

But then her shock gave place to anger. Her innocent mask melted, showing her true colors to the world. The colors of a very determined person.

"Who is she?" Even her voice was different now, loud and clear without any seductive tone in it.

"You don't know her."

"Bullshit! We have the same friends, our families move in the same circles. I know the people you know, I speak to the people you speak to, I hate the ones you hate! Tell me the truth! Who Is SHE?"

"I don't have to tell you anything. We are over." The blond tried to walk away after that but Pansy stopped him.

"Oh no, we are not! I have the right to know her name. Is it Ginny Weasley? Did she trick you with her lies? Answer Me! Why are you leaving me? What do you want me to do? I will do anything!"

"Pansy, please stop this! Nothing will change my decision now. The sooner you'll accept it, the better." Said Draco and then he freed himself from the girl's surprisingly strong hold and left.

Pansy kneeled on the wet floor powerless. Her love was taken away from her. She had lost Draco…

"Someone will pay for this. I will find you, mysterious girl and when I do, you will wish that you had never been born!"

_I am a line_

"Did you and Blaise have a fight? I haven't seen you talking to each other these past few days."

Neville almost choked on his juice at Hermione's question. He hadn't told his best friend about the 'incident' yet. And how could he tell her? What would he say?

"_I am so sorry Hermione but your almost boyfriend prefers me. Better luck next time."_

Or

"_I found out why Blaise didn't try to kiss you on your first date. It's because he would rather stick his tongue down my throat." _

This was definitely not going to happen. Not in a million years.

"He is busy. You know with training and stuff."

Hermione of course didn't believe him.

"You are lying." She said and took a bite from her toast.

"I am not lying!"

"Even your ears are blushing right now. You can't hide from me, Nev."

The shy boy touched his ears in terror and found them burning for the embarrassment. But the reason behind his blush wasn't his bad lying. It was the memory of Blaise's soft lips on the sensitive skin of his neck, where they left a little dark bruise. He tried really hard not to think about it. He hid the mark with a scarf and occupied himself with homework and gardening but nothing worked. All these feelings came back to him whenever he let himself unguarded. He had to forget them, to send them at the back of his mind and make sure that they will stay there. No matter how intense they were.

"Speaking of the devil, there he is, Blaise!"

Apparently the universe didn't agree with his plans.

"Let him go, Mione."

"Why? He is our friend, isn't he? Blaise! Come over here!"

The SS King froze in the middle of the school's cafeteria when he heard the girl's loud yelling. He had avoided the duo of doom for days now, taking a different path every time he wanted to go to the library and not entering a room without making sure that they weren't there. He had become paranoid.

It was all Neville's fault! Why did he have to sit so close to him and tempt him? Blaise had never felt this way before for another man. Girls used to be his weakness, the object of his fantasies ever since he had understood the technics of sex. This was the first time in his life that he found a male body attractive and it confused him. He needed more space to clear his head.

But now there was no way to avoid talking to them, not while everyone was watching him with curious eyes. So he did the only thing, he could do to make them stop. He walked to the table in the back of the room and sat between its two occupants.

Hermione was the first to talk to him.

"Hi! How have you been? Neville told me that you were very busy this week but you could at least say hello! For a moment there I thought you were avoiding us!"

Neville sent Blaise a warning look and said in an almost hostile tone.

"Yea I told her about your new training program and how you are working hard to become better in basketball. "

"That's right! Training, training and training! That's all I can think about! I am sorry for not talking to you."

"We understand." Reassured him the girl and then stood up quickly. "I just remembered that I forgot my notebook in my locker! I will see you in class!"

"Didn't you just put it in your bag?"

"No, Neville. I am talking about my other notebook. You know the pink one."

"You have a pink notebook? I thought you said that pink is a very girly color and it reminded you of Barbie." wondered the hazel eyed teen.

"I changed my mind! Bye!"

And with that Hermione left them alone.

Neither boy wanted to speak first so they stayed silent for a few moments. People started to leave the room one by one but they still remained motionless. Until Neville finally put an end to their misery and whispered

"You still didn't tell why you did it."

Blaise moved uncomfortably in his seat and whispered back

"I told you, I don't know."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have!" yelled the taller boy but then returned to his silence, when he saw his classmates staring at him.

"Are you… you know…"

"I am not like you, Neville."

"Are you sure?"

"I have dated many girls and had sex with more than half of them."

"Again that is not an answer." continued Neville quietly. "Sleeping with girls doesn't make you straight."

"I AM NOT…!" Blaise tried to shout but then he remembered where he was and added in small voice. "I Am Not Gay. I am sorry that I kissed you. It was a mistake and I promise you it won't happen again. I was just a little curious."

Sadness appeared in the hazel eyes and their owner stood up from his seat but not before saying

"Okay. I will forget about it. But the next time you will feel… curious, please use someone else as the doll for your little experiment. Someone without feelings."

And then there was only one person left in the small table in the back of the school's cafeteria.

_I am a line_

Harry was running down the empty hallway with his books on his hands and his bag thrown over his shoulder. He was late again! Snape was going to be pissed.

Suddenly a pale hand appeared out of nowhere and dragged inside the storage room.

"Are you avoiding me?"

The familiar cold voice didn't surprise him this time.

"Malfoy, I have to go to class. This is not the time neither the place to talk about this."

Draco turned the other boy around so that he could see his beautiful green eyes and said

"Just answer me and I will let you go."

"Yes, I have been avoiding you."

"Why?"

The brunet rolled his eyes to the stupid question.

"You said that you will let me go."

"Not yet. Why?"

A deep sigh followed the second 'why' and Harry answered

"Because you and I have nothing left to say to each other. I just want to make you realize that as soon as possible."

Draco moved one step away from the shorter boy.

"I don't understand, Harry… What about Saturday night?"

"It was your prize for winning the bet. It will never happen again."

Two small steps away…

"What if I want it to happen again?"

"Find someone else."

Another step…

"What if I don't want to find someone else? What if I want you?"

"Then we have a problem because I definitely don't want you."

He felt the cool surface of the door on his back. He couldn't go any further.

"You seemed to want me in that hotel room. You screamed for more!" he shouted desperately.

"Let me rephrase that." Said Harry and took a step towards Draco. "I never said that I didn't want your body. I said that I didn't want YOU." Another big step. "You and your selfishness. You think you can still play your little game as if nothing happened?" Harry pressed his finger accusingly against Draco's collarbone and poked him hard with every word he said next. "Well I have news for you! I Am Not Your Toy! This chase is over! You got what you wanted! Leave me alone!"

Everything happened really fast after that. Draco's arms flew like lighting to Harry's body but they were pushed away before they could hug him. They tried again but the same thing happened. Their third attempt gained their owner a punch in the face.

Then all hell broke loose…

The two young men punched, kicked, bit and shoved each other with all their might until blood started to come out of their wounds and their noses. Their clothes were torn in many places, giving their opponent new skin to damage. They moved quickly and with strategy, like two pieces in a chess board.

"I am not playing with you anymore." said Draco when they finally stopped their animalistic fighting.

"I don't believe you." answered Harry, who was trying to stop his nose bleed.

"I lo… like you."

"I still don't believe you."

"Just give me a chance! I know you secretly like me too, otherwise you wouldn't have given your virginity to me."

'I don't like you!"

"Wanna bet?"

"NO!"

With his nose bleed forgotten, Harry pushed the smirking blond out of his way and ran to his class. All he had to do now was to find his missing books.

_I am a line_

The first love was a really important matter to Ginny Weasley. She believed that someone could only live happily with the person that made them feel this strong feeling before anyone else, because for her, first love was the perfect love.

And Harry was her perfect Prince.

There was no one like him. He was smart, handsome, athletic and honest. He had everything… but still not a girlfriend.

Ginny wanted to be the lucky girl so much. She had asked her brother for help many times but the idiot never did anything. He just yelled at her to leave his best friend alone already. No way! Harry was her destiny.

"What are you waiting for, Riddle? I gave you the proof you needed! Use it!"

A loud male voice stopped her from going to the gym to see her future boyfriend (and maybe husband in a few years!) and she listened closely to a very interesting conversation.

"Patience, Dean. We need more information about the other three, I told you about. If you find them then you will get your revenge."

"I can't follow Parkinson around like a little puppy! She goes to all these weird places, where only women are allowed! Find a girl to do this job!"

"What kind of information are you looking for?" asked the redhead girl and walked out of her hiding place. Dean's eyes widened when he saw her but the other boy next to him (Tom, Ginny remembered) didn't seem very surprised.

"Ginny! How much did you hear?" asked the taller boy terrified.

"Enough to know that you want to learn more about Pansy Parkinson. What are you looking for?"

Tom stepped forward and smiled at her brightly.

"Her secrets, her darkest fears, her weaknesses… whatever it takes to make her fall from her shiny throne."

Ginny glanced at Dean for a few seconds, who had relaxed a little and then turned her attention back to the younger teen, saying

"What exactly do I have to do?"

_I am a line_

Blaise and Draco were sitting on the gym's stands, trying to catch their breath from the difficult training. Coach Lupin had become ruthless after their first winning match.

"How is the bet going, B.? Are you going to win any time soon?"

"No. I think I lost my chance, Dray. I don't know if I can make any progress from now on."

"Good… because I am back in the game."

A/n Hi, guys! I am sorry that I didn't update a lot these past few weeks but a lot of things are going on right now with my life and there is no time for writing. I will try really hard to post the next chapter as soon as possible.

Thank you nannily for your review. The last chapter was one of my personal favorites.

Lupin7691: Apology accepted. As for the Hermione/Charlie pairing, maybe I will use it in another story but we will see…

Oh, and don't worry. Harry is innocent.

Bye!


	12. Chapter 12

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 12

_33 days until the party_

The rain was falling softly against the school windows, making a wonderful and relaxing music with even the smallest drop. And inside the warm but crowded hallways of Hogwarts High, the students were trying to continue their normal lives despite the bad weather.

"Go out with me?"

Padma threw her books in her dark brown school bag and fixed her black ponytail on her little mirror without giving the boy next to her a single glance.

"Aren't you tired of this, Seamus? That's the second time you asked me that question… this week. It's getting boring."

But the young man didn't lose his smile at her hostile behavior. He just picked up Padma's bag and carried it to her next class.

"Then just say yes." He shouted over his shoulder.

"Hey! That's mine!"

"Come and get it!"

Padma Patil smirked secretly to herself. Out of all the boys, who had tried to seduce her, this one was the most persistent and strong-minded. He would just pop out out of nowhere and ask her to go on a date with him. She had shouted at him, threw stuff at him (some of them were really sharp!) and ignored him for a few days but he always came back for more. And to be honest… that was exactly what Padma liked about him.

So she hid her smile and followed him with sure and slow steps. He would have to work really hard to win her heart and the cheerleader would make sure of that.

_I am a line_

Paint

This strong chemical substance dominated the entire classroom. It was everywhere. Spilled on the floor, thrown carelessly all over the white canvasses without forming any specific design and some of it had even reached the light yellow walls. Its smell was something that the members of the art club would never ever forget.

"Okay, guys! For today's lesson you will have to do a portrait…Now I know that some of you are not prepared for this but please try your best and I am sure that everything will turn out just fine!"

The depressed teens sighed deeply and stared at their teacher with sleepy eyes. Most of them had picked this activity because they thought that it would be something easy to do and that they wouldn't have to do any work for their extra mark. But unfortunately that wasn't the case.

Because Miss Burbage was a very responsible and cheerful person. Her colorful hair was the obvious proof of that. Although she wasn't that young anymore, she always tried to make her subject as interesting as possible by organizing new activities and challenges each week. But alas her unusual and 'exciting' technics couldn't make her students see the interesting part of being a creative artist. Hermione was the only one, who understood and respected her.

"Okay! Now let's welcome our lovely volunteers, who were kind enough to spare us a few moments of their time. Come in, boys!"

At the teacher's demand, the door opened quickly and five young men entered the large room. Hermione almost jumped in the air from the shock, when her eyes met a pair of icy grey ones. What the hell was Malfoy doing there? He didn't look like the kind of guy, who acknowledged the necessity of the Arts.

"Now please split into five groups of three, according to the model of your choice. The ones, who are left behind, will have to wait for our sixth model to arrive, so be patient. Let us begin!"

The still bored students picked up their tools and formed five small circles around their models. Hermione was the first one, who walked towards Draco and sat quietly on the stool closest to him. None of the other boys were as beautiful as the blond, so it was only natural for her to pick him for her portrait. He had an interesting face, that looked perfect from every angle and his eyes would be a wonderful challenge for her skills. She had to pick him!

"Hello, Hermione." Draco greeted her warmly.

"Hi, Draco. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well you know it's always fun to volunteer for the clubs when I have some time. I can barely do it now with all this extra training but I really enjoy working with other people."

"That's good to know…" said Hermione and placed her large sketch-book against her thighs. The blond boy was a big mystery to her. She couldn't decide if she should hate him, like him or just ignore him. Everyone feared and respected the SS in this school but after meeting Blaise, her opinion on them had changed.

"So… you and Blaise, huh? He seems to really like you, you know, so don't hurt him."

Hermione suppressed the urge to raise her eyebrow at Draco's statement. Blaise was a good guy (at least that's what she wanted to believe) but he was definitely not interested in her. Only a very dense person wouldn't have noticed the adoration and protectiveness in Blaise's eyes when he looked at Neville. It was a pity that the stupid boy hadn't realized it yet and had been avoiding her best friend for days now. But Hermione had a plan for those two…

"Um… Blaise and I… let's just say that we are not very compatible with each other." She told Draco in the end.

"Well then how about you and I…" started the blond but he was cut off by the loud banging of a door.

"I am so sorry, I am late! My locker got… jammed…"

Draco turned his attention away from the girl in front of him and smirked evilly, when he saw the person behind her. Because right there, by the doorway, Harry Potter stood frozen, taking deep and quick breaths to calm himself down from all the running and staring at Draco with wide eyes.

"Ah, Harry, there you are! You don't have to apologize for anything, we haven't even started yet. Now take a seat, please." said Ms. Burbage and gestured to the seat at the center of the circle that was right next to Draco's.

Harry shook his head violently, as if the sudden movement was going to put his thoughts in order and sat on the wooden stool without saying anything more. He didn't even look at the SS King's direction once after that.

"Alright! As I was saying before, you have to do a portrait of your model, using the technics that we learned on our previous meeting. I leave the background and the general theme of your painting for you to decide. In other words, let your imagination free and be creative!"

Everyone turned to their work quickly after they heard that but they didn't do it silently. As soon as the teacher had finished her sentence, loud murmurs filled the air and the once quiet room turned into the noisiest classroom in the entire building.

"What's your theme?" asked Draco suddenly, pointing at Hermione's sketch-book with a pale finger.

"I don't know yet… I will start with your face first and then we will see." answered the busy now girl but then added "You look like a Prince… maybe I will make you one in my painting."

"That sounds great. Maybe you could be my princess." stated the Malfoy heir in a seductive voice.

"Potter! Stop changing your expression! You look like you are going to puke!"

Hermione ignored the sudden yelling from the group next to them and answered to Draco's last suggestion. "I am not and never will be anyone's 'princess' because unlike them I don't need a man by my side all the time. I can save myself, if I have to."

"Good… because I don't like weak people. You will see Hermione that not all the men in the world want to treat their woman like an object." Draco moved his seat a little closer to her and whispered "Some of us know how to treat a woman like you like a Lady. You just have to give us a chance…

"I am sorry but I don't feel very good. Can I go outside for a moment?"

"Of course, Harry. You look very pale! Can someone please escort Harry to the nurse's office?" asked the middle aged teacher horrified by her student's illness.

"I will go with him." Offered Draco and moved away from Hermione's personal space. No one else seemed to be interesting in babysitting the basketball team's captain.

"No! I can go on my own!" yelled Harry.

"No sense! You might faint on the way! You have to have someone near you. Draco, you will help him and then return here as soon as possible so that we can continue our work."

"Yes, Miss." said Draco and followed the brunet outside the classroom.

They walked together silently, the sound of their heavy steps echoing all over the deserted hallway until Harry stepped in front of other boy and said

"That's enough. You did your good deed for today. Now leave."

The calm expression didn't leave Draco's face as he took a step forward and said

"I am worried about you."

"You are really unbelievable!" said Harry and then started laughing hysterically. "You were in there, flirting with Hermione and now you're acting like a concerned friend to me?"

"Boyfriend." Corrected Draco and gain a death glare from his captain.

"You are kidding, right? A few weeks ago you said that you weren't even ready to have a relationship with a guy. What made you change your mind?"

"You." Declared Draco and pushed Harry to the nearest wall but before he could kiss him, Harry turned his head away.

"You are lying. And you know what's worse? I almost believed you the other day."

"What made _you_ change your mind?" asked Draco, looking right into the bright green orbs that always made him want to devour their owner.

"You… and your actions."

"Look Harry, if this is about the Hermione thing then you don't have to worry. I only did that to make you jealous."

"Really? So… you just played with her feelings to achieve your goal?"

"It won't hurt her. And you can't say that it didn't work. Now I know for sure that you like me."

Harry stared at Draco with hurt in his eyes for a few seconds and then pushed him away, saying

"It's all just a big joke for you, huh? Draco Malfoy, the King of the school, the one, who can manipulate everyone. You don't even care about the people that you may hurt on the way, do you? First you use me to satisfy your needs and now you use her to see my reaction. How many others will there be on the future, I wonder. How many hearts will you destroy next?"

"Harry… no." whispered Draco and tried to caress the shorter boy's cheek.

"Don't Touch Me." screamed and pushed the hand away. "I don't trust you. I don't think I will ever trust you. I… A relationship is supposed to be between two people who can at least tell the truth to each other. How can I be sure that you won't lie to me? How can I be sure that you are not lying to me right now? I will admit that I was jealous when I saw you with her but that's not enough."

"Harry…"

"Don't interrupt me! I-I am not ready to tell everyone about me so if I ever decide to have a relationship during High school then it will only be a secret one. How can I be sure that you won't betray me?"

A cool breeze entered the warm hallway from an open window to their left but Draco didn't feel it touch his face. He couldn't feel it because his brain was too busy with analyzing Harry's words. He couldn't believe that his plan had backfired so much. When Blaise had told him about Hermione's club activities, he thought that it was the perfect opportunity for him to capture Harry and make him his but his attempt had failed horribly. And the worst part of it was that the other boy had a point to what he said… and that made him feel disgusted with himself.

"I don't want to lie to you… I could never lie to you. I think that I lo…"

"Enough!" shouted Harry with frustration. "Prove it. No more bets, no more lies, no more fake girlfriends. Prove yourself to me and maybe I will change my mind."

And with that Harry walked away without looking back.

_I am a line_

"So, Theo, how was school today?"

Theodore Nott was officially bored. He still couldn't believe that he had to continue this 'therapy' after almost eight months of torture. Because let's face it, the whole concept of this psychological examination was useless to him. All he had to do was to sit in a very uncomfortable and dirty sofa (yes these things were very dirty. Who knows how many insane and insecure people had left their body fluids on them.) and talk about his feelings and other stuff like that.

He didn't need a therapist anymore! So what if he tried to kill himself once? He had just learned the worst thing that could ever happen in someone's life. Every normal person would have tried to end his life after that.

"It was okay…"

"You didn't have any problems? You know physically?"

"Sam, I am not a baby. I can take care of myself." said the boy and tried to adjust himself better on his seat.

"But the doctor said…"

"I don't want to talk about that."

Samantha took one of her dark blond locks between her long fingers and started playing with it nervously. She always did that when she felt uncomfortable and although it wasn't a healthy behavior for a psychiatrist, it made her feel safer and always distracted her from the true problem in front of her. And unfortunately her favorite nephew was a big black stain in the normal looking white picture that was her life. She wanted to help him, she really did but it wasn't an easy thing to do. How could you help someone in a situation like this? She felt useless…

"You will have to talk about it one day. It's not going to go away if you ignore it."

"And what am I supposed to do? Think of it as another part of my life? No! I don't want to be like this. I don't want it!"

Tears ran down the beautiful male face at the same time that loud whimpers escaped the perfectly shaped lips.

"Theo…" whispered his aunt and hugged him tightly against her chest. Oh how she hated this! Every time she tried to bring up this, difficult for Theo, subject he started crying and sometimes breaking things around the room. With this reaction they would never make any progress.

And Theodore's depression was getting worse by the day.

A/n I know, I know! I haven't updated my stories as often as I used to do in the past but you have to understand, I have many things on my mind right now. Unfortunately the next chapter might take a little longer to be finished and for that I apologize in advance. So please be patient and I hope to see you in the next chapter.

Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Bye!


	13. Chapter 13

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 13

_1 month until the party_

The bell rang in its usual monotonous tone, making the relieved now students stand up from their seats and walk towards the exit of their personal hell. Because for them that's what school was, even if some of them won't admit it out loud. A hell without escape. It was a very difficult thing to make them understand the value of their teachers' lessons or the importance of being educated and well-mannered. They looked like animals trapped in the same cage, waiting for the true freedom that would come, when they would go to college. And of course as every normal teenager, Hermione saw herself in the same way.

But today all of these complains were at the back of her head. Because today was the day that her secret plan about Neville and Blaise was going to be executed with success… at least that's what she wanted to hope.

It was a very simple plan and her part in it was even simpler. All she had to do was get the two boys together (preferably locked up in a very small place) and let them talk. Really talk, not like what they did when she had left them together at lunch days ago. She hadn't listened to what exactly they had said to each other (she made sure to hide in the best place possible) but by their expressions and body language it was obvious that nothing went according to plan.

A part of her always feared that maybe she had misunderstood Blaise's feelings. Maybe the basketball player didn't like Neville after all, maybe she made things up in her head, the longing stares, the protectiveness in his movements… but her intuition said other things. Either way these two had to talk, not because she wanted to understand Blaise's feelings better but because she wanted to make Neville happy again.

She would make sure that they will at least return to their former friendship. This past month together had made Neville's mood improve with each conversation. He had become more confident about himself and had tried to make more friends, without fearing that they might hurt him. He even used to smile more and Hermione wanted to see that cute smile on her best friend's face again because after fighting with Blaise (she still couldn't figure out the reason behind that) Neville returned to his lonely silent self.

She would never allow it.

So as she walked down the school hallway with said friend next to her, she realized that maybe this was the perfect moment for her to begin phase one.

"Nev, I think that I forgot my scarf back in our last class. Could you please bring it back to me?"

Neville's eyebrows rose at the girl's statement, almost reaching his hairline, and he looked at her with shocked and confused eyes.

"I don't believe it. Hermione Granger is asking for a man's help. I never thought that I would see the day when that would happen."

Hermione punched him playfully in the arm and said

"Oh come on! My feet are killing me. Please, please, please, pretty please?"

The brunet made a disgusted face and obeyed her but not without saying

"You are such a girl sometimes…"

"Hey! Take that back!" shouted Hermione at his running form, which started to disappear into the colorful crowd of their classmates. The corners of her mouth rose into an almost evil smile as she searched for her second victim, I mean friend.

She found him, standing by his locker next to a very tall brunet boy (Theodore Nott, Hermione would find out later). When he saw her coming, Blaise's eyes grew at the size of basketballs and then he looked around him, probably wondering why Neville wasn't by her side.

"Hello Blaise." Hermione said in a happy voice. "Could you do me a favor, please? Ms. McGonagall asked me to bring her some maps from the history class but they are too high and I can't reach them. Could you bring them to me?"

Blaise took a deep calming breath and answered "Sure. Which ones?"

"The political of the U.S.A and… oh god, I forgot the other one. You go ahead and I will meet you there."

That suggestion made Blaise suspect that something wasn't right. Hermione had a very good memory, she never forgot what the teachers told her. Why would she lie?

The SS King pushed the negatives thoughts away and with a silent nod started his short journey towards the classroom by the number B3. And as he tried to avoid some of the students, who were walking on the opposite direction, Neville had already reached the deserted now room.

The shy boy searched for his friend's scarf frantically, trying to find it as quickly as possible but the blue piece of clothing was nowhere to be found. In his nervous state, he didn't notice the two big shadows that came to him from behind until his vision became suddenly black. The last thing he managed to hear was the sound of loud male laughter…

_I am a line_

Autumn was definitely Harry's favorite season. He loved the warm colors of the leaves, brown and orange, that fell softly on the pavement, and the sound they made, when he stepped on them. He loved the feeling of the cool air against his skin and how it always made his black hair look even messier than before. But out of the things he loved about this season, Harry could have never imagined autumn without the rain.

It was impossible.

So much energy, gathered inside a normal looking cloud, waiting to be unleashed to the world by the wonderful phenomenon that rules the entire universe.

_Opposites attract_.

And when they did the most magnificent event occurred: lighting.

For Harry lightings were always fascinating. He remembered, waiting by his old bedroom's window to see the different shapes and sizes that the clouds could make, when they collided with each other. He was only nine years old back then.

And now eight years later, he still looked forward to these kinds of moments, not only the ones made into the sky but also the ones made by the human kind. Because even people collided with each other sometimes, people that were completely different to each other, people that you would never ever imagine being together. But the most amazing part of these types of collision was that they created something even more special than lighting. They created a love like no other…

Maybe tonight many of these moments would happen in the sky, Harry thought to himself as he returned home alone from school. The big black clouds in the sky warned the people below them that a storm was coming.

Suddenly Harry stopped his slow walking and without even turning his head, yelled

"Malfoy stop following me! You are turning into a stalker."

Draco cursed under his breath and stepped away from his hiding place, a brick wall a few meters behind the brunet. How did the former Golden Lion know that he was there? He had tried really hard to remain unnoticed.

"Harry, it's not what it looks like!"

Harry finally turned around and stared at the scared blond teen with amused green eyes.

"Oh really? So… you weren't actually following me. And the fact that you hid yourself behind every wall that I passed for ten minutes now was just a big coincidence!"

"Okay maybe it's exactly what it looks like." admitted Draco. His humiliation was that great that he couldn't look Harry in the eye.

"Is there a reason behind all this?" asked the shorter boy in an annoyed but not hostile tone.

A low whisper was his first answer. "I…"

"I am sorry but I didn't hear you. Say it again."

"I wanted to learn more stuff about you." Draco declared a little louder this time. "… so that I… you know, could impress you later."

Harry barely suppressed the urge to smile at the image in front of him. He had known Draco for years but this was the first time, he saw such a cute expression on his pale face. And the fact that he avoided looking into his eyes made him even more adorable.

"You could have just asked me."

Grey eyes finally met green and Draco stuttered "R-Really?"

This time Harry let the smile reach his lips.

"Of course. How will you prove yourself to me if we don't talk to each other?"

Draco returned the smile with a grin and then the two boys started to walk together towards Harry's house. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the dancing by the air leaves. It was such a peaceful moment but the Malfoy heir couldn't help himself from asking

"What's your favorite color?"

"Red." answered Harry without thinking. "Deep red."

"Why? Red is an awful color. It reminds of blood." said the taller boy and made a disgusted face.

"Red is special. It is the color of passion and out of all the other colors, red is the only one that can raise your heart beat, just by looking at it. What's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"Why?" wondered Harry when Draco didn't explain the reason to him.

"Because it reminds me of your eyes…"

A long silence followed this statement until Harry busted out laughing and the blond next to him sent him a death glare. He was trying to be romantic, dammit!

"That's… so… CHEESY!" managed to say Harry in between loud giggles.

"Doesn't make it any less true."

Harry stopped laughing, when he heard these words. The thought that someone as arrogant as Draco Malfoy could turn into a shy and almost romantic idiot because of him, was making him really happy. It wasn't because he wanted to torture the other boy. He just liked the feeling of being liked by a guy for the first time. And the fact that that guy was Malfoy made the situation even more exciting and wonderful (Don't tell him that!).

"You are very stubborn, aren't you? You will never give up once you have found something that you want."

"Giving up is the easiest thing to do." Told him Draco with a smile "And what's the fun to that?"

The two boys stared at each other's eyes for what seemed to be hours but it was only minutes. Draco wanted to reach forward and bring Harry closer to him but before he could even raise his hand, a deep male voice stopped him.

"Look what we've got here! It's the faggot!"

Harry's whole body froze at the sound of the familiar voice that always made him want to run as far away as he could manage. Because that voice belonged to no other than one of his most recent nightmares: his cousin Dudley Dursley, a tall but fat boy with wavy dark blond hair and shiny blue eyes. And as always he had his best friend next to him, a skinny boy named Piers.

"What the fuck do you want? Leave me alone!" shouted the brunet with terror.

"Just look at him Piers!" continued Dudley "He hasn't changed at all! He is as cocky and sassy as ever! Maybe he hasn't learned his lesson."

Draco stepped protectively in front of Harry and stared at the enemy duo with venomous eyes. He didn't know who they were or how they knew about Harry's sexuality but if Harry saw them as a threat then so would he.

"You heard what he said. If I were you, I would turn around and leave as soon as I got the chance." he told them in an angry tone.

"And who exactly are you? His boyfriend?" asked Piers, who was speaking for the first time.

"I might be. Got a problem with that?"

Dudley and Piers exchanged a silent glance and then stepped forward together. Draco watched their movements with calculating eyes. He was not going to let them reach Harry. They would have to go through him first.

"We are not afraid of you, Blondie." said Dudley. "You don't stand a chance against us."

"Yea… when we'll finish with you, your face is going to look like rotten meat!" warned him Piers.

The feeling of two strong but trembling arms around his waist stopped Draco from attacking the two bastards, who had the nerve to challenge him. He glanced back at Harry quickly and saw him, shaking his head urgently in an attempt to stop him.

"Please…" the terrified boy begged.

Draco nodded without hesitation and after sending one last glare to the other two, took Harry's hand into his own and guided him away from them peacefully. With every step he took, the name calling behind him became louder and louder until he almost couldn't take it anymore. His only relief was the warm hand against his skin, which he squeezed every time one of the insults made him want to turn around and beat these mother-fuckers until they could no longer form a single word.

That hand was his anchor now and at the back of his mind, Draco thought that he wouldn't mind, stepping out of the closet, if that wonderful hand could stay right there, inside his own.

_I am a line_

"What the hell are you doing?" shouted Blaise at his two playmates.

Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe were standing in front of an unconscious Neville with their sleeves rolled up to their elbows, obviously ready to do something terrible. When they saw him at the previously deserted classroom's doorway, they smirked and gestured for him to come nearer.

"Blaise! Come, Come! We are going to strip this fag and hide his clothes!" told him Greg.

"And then we are going to write on his chest 'I like sucking dick'! The pictures are going to be hilarious!" added Vincent.

"Stop it, guys. This is childish." said the SS King while thinking about having to deal with such things himself, if he had turned out to be gay. He could have never handled something so cruel.

You are not going to ruin our fun now, are you?" asked Greg "Come on! You never stopped us before when we did similar things to other freaks like him. Or do you actually like this freak? Has he turned you into a queer?"

'_No!'_ a part of his brain screamed to Blaise in terror_. 'I can't let them suspect. I am not even GAY! I will lose everything, I will lose everyone…'_

'_But what about Neville?'_ asked another smaller part.

'_Leave him! He has caused us enough problems already!'_ continued the first one.

'_No!'_

'_Yes!'_

'_NO!'_

"Carry on…" Blaise heard himself saying at the end and ran out of the room with silent tears on his face.

Hermione missed him by a few seconds but when she glanced inside the classroom to make sure that both of her friends were in there, she screamed at what she saw.

"YOU! What are you doing? Leave Neville alone, you assholes!"

Greg and Vincent laughed together at the girl's hysterics.

"Look! It's his fag-hag ready to attack! She is going to kill us!" said Greg in a sarcastic tone.

"I am so scared!"

"You should be…" whispered Hermione and, true to Greg's words, attacked the two large boys without mercy.

She bit them, punched them, clawed them but unfortunately she was no match against the basketball players. Her attacks did nothing to them. Eventually they managed to grab her by the arms and tried to push her out of the room, when a deep voice shouted

"Let her go or you will regret it, boys."

Out of all the people inside the school, Hermione would have never expected Ron Weasley to come to her rescue. The redhead stood there with his fists raised and a reassuring smile to his freckled face. He wicked at her direction, making Hermione roll her eyes at his arrogance.

"So what's it going to be? Are you going to let her go or am I going to have to make you?"

"This is none of your business, Weasley!" told him Greg.

"Wrong answer." said Ron before he punched the talking boy to the jaw and kicked his friend in the groin with two quick movements. Hermione was amazed, when she saw her bullies lying to the floor, groaning in pain.

"How did you do that?" she asked, still in a haze by the sudden turn of events.

"When you live with five older brothers, who always want to take your stuff away from you, you have to learn to defend them and yourself." Answered Ron and then moved towards the fallen boy close to the wall. "Will you help me take your friend to his house? I don't know the address."

Hermione kicked Greg to the stomach with all her might, when he tried to stand up and then nodded happily.

_I am a line_

Harry's home was a normal-looking three-story building in a neighborhood full of similar houses with brown-brick walls and large windows but the fact that it was Harry's house made it look more special to his eyes. Throughout the remaining of their walk together, the two of them had stayed silent, not wanting to remind the other of the unfortunate event from before. Draco wanted to talk about it of course but he feared that maybe Harry wasn't ready for it.

The brunet was still shaking like a leaf.

"Thank you for bringing me home."

Draco turned his attention back to the person in front of him and smiled softly.

"I couldn't leave you alone, after what happened. These two might have followed you."

Harry's eyes widened at the thought of Dudley and Piers following him here. He liked his new home. It was safe and warm, something that he never felt back at his aunt's house. He didn't want Dudley to ruin this one for him too.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" asked Draco, when he saw his reaction.

"No… not today. I will explain everything to you tomorrow, I promise."

And almost without thinking, Harry placed a sweet but short kiss to the blond's lips and walked inside his house as soon as it had ended.

"I love you." whispered Draco to the closed door.

_I am a line_

Theo reached his home after his usual meeting with Samantha and found a little surprise, sitting at the marble steps of his small mansion. Well technically it wasn't really a big surprise, since the person in front him had been coming here every afternoon for the past five days now.

"You have to stop, waiting for me outside. With this weather you might catch a cold. Patrick will let you in, if you knock the door."

The young woman stood up from the cold stairs and gave the tall boy a strong hug. She still had tears in her eyes, although she had cried countless times into his arms. Theo returned the hug and said

"Come on, Pansy. Let's go inside."

_I am a lone_

"Why did you help us?"

Ron was surprised by Hermione's sudden question. They had carried Neville to his car and took him back to his house, where his grandmother was still waiting for him to wake up. The doctor said that those horrible brats had hit him really hard at the back of the head with a really heavy object. They were going to take him to the hospital to run some needed tests and maybe keep him there for a few days. Hermione would definitely go to see him tomorrow.

So now they were driving to Hermione's house, while listening to some music on the radio to calm themselves down. Until of course Miss I-Can't-Keep-My-Mouth-Shut-For-More-Than-Ten-Seconds decided to speak.

"Well… it's because I know how it feels like to have a friend, who's different. I would have never let someone like them hurt him." Ron answered in the end.

"You are talking about Harry, aren't you?"

"How the fuck did you know that?" he shouted in pure shock.

"I have a strong Gay-radar. At least that's what I used to believe… But don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your friend."

"Thank you."

Hermione stared outside of the window for a few moments, watching the city come to life with every small light that was being turned on, while the redhead kept counting in his head.

'_8, 9, 10…' _

"You know, this was the first civil conversation between us. You are not a bad guy after all."

'_Bingo!' _thought Ron but aloud he said

"I agree I am really nice once you get to know me."

"Ha, ha. Really funny. Anyway, I was wondering if maybe I could sit at your table for a few days. I don't want to be anywhere near the SS now that Neville got hurt because of them."

The redhead cursed his traitorous heart for beating faster at the image of Hermione, sitting at HIS table but he couldn't help himself from answering with a smile on his face

"Sure."

_I am a line_

"Parvati, I think that I might be in love…"

The quiet statement echoed around the secret bedroom of the Patil's house but still remained without an answer by the peacefully sleeping girl on the single bed. Her calm and slow breaths were the only indication that she was still alive even though no one would have wished for a life like this. Padma, used to her sister's silence after years of enduring it, smiled sadly and continued her one- person conversation, while painting Parvati's nails with pink nail polish. A girl has to look good even if she couldn't see it herself.

"His name is Seamus and he is a very funny guy. I am sure that you will like him. He is on the basketball team but to tell you the truth, and you better not tell this to anyone, I would have liked him even if he wasn't a part of the popular group. He just… he is so honest, you know. He will tell you the first thing that will come to his mind, without caring about whether or not it's the stupidest thing in the world." At this the girl smiled as she remembered all the times that Seamus had humiliated himself in front of her with his awful pick-up lines.

"I still haven't agreed to go out with him… _'sigh'_ but I really want to. I… I'm scared. What if he wants to meet our family? Will I be able to hide you this time?" Padma took her sister's hand in her own and squeezed gently. "Don't be mad. I am not ashamed of you, I am ashamed about what I did. I never had this problem with my ex-boyfriends. They just wanted to get into my pants and then leave but he is different. I know it, I can feel it."

Parvati stayed motionless at her twin's words, which made her the best and most perfect listener in the whole world. But Padma really missed her sister's voice…

"I wish that you could meet him…" she said in a sad tone and returned to her former work without saying anything more.

_I am a line_

The rain had finally started to fall heavily on the deserted streets of the peacefully sleeping city, making its usual loud but relaxing music with each drop that touched the ground. But not everyone was staying indoors tonight.

Blaise Zabini, unofficial King of Hogwarts High School, basketball player and the most popular guy around, was sitting under a tree, not caring about the warning thunders in the sky. Because Blaise was too busy, doing something that he hadn't done ever since he was a little kid. He was crying his eyes out.

Guilt was poising his heart little by little, a guilt that he had never felt before.

'_Coward, coward, COWARD!' _screamed his mind over and over and over.

How could he do this? Why did he leave Neville behind? Neville was his friend! He really was his friend! Why did he have to be such a coward?

Fresh tears started running down his face as he thought about what he had done. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shout to the entire world that he didn't deserve to live after making such an innocent and wonderful person suffer because he hadn't had the balls to help him.

Blaise whimpered as he imagined Neville, waking up to find that his clothes were missing and that he had that horrible thing written down onto his chest. He whimpered again when a new and more terrifying image entered his head. Neville's beautiful face filled with all kinds of bruises and cuts, staring at him with hurt in his once happy hazel eyes and then walking away from him without looking back.

"I am so sorry." He whispered to the other boy's retreating back. "Please forgive me, I am so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me."

The SS King raised his head from his hands and stared with red eyes at the unexpected person in front of him.

Riddle was smiling softly to him, holding an old blue umbrella over both of their heads that matched his dark blue raincoat. When he saw that Blaise was in no state to talk to him, he sat on the pavement next to him and said

"You are not supposed to sit under trees, when there's rain. You might get struck by lightning. But then again I always wanted to be a little adventurous."

"Why are you here?" asked Blaise in a hoarse voice.

"I was just going back home from Collin's house, minding my own business. So imagine my surprise, when I saw you here."

"What do you want?"

"I was wondering if you remember something about a bet between us. You know that you only have a month now to complete it…"

Blaise could care less about the bet right now and he would have told Tom that, if the short boy hadn't added

"…Or are you a coward?"

'_No!'_ screamed his mind now. _'No! I am not going to be a coward again! Never again!'_

"You will see, Riddle." he told Tom with not a single tear in his eyes "That the SS are always true to their words. I will have Granger before the month ends."

A/n: Oh my god! Has it really been this long? I am sorry, I am really sorry for making you wait. I hope that you haven't forgotten about this story. If you find any mistakes, please ignore them. I will try to fix them as soon as possible. Again I don't know when I will post the next chapter.

Is it just me or are my chapters getting bigger? It takes forever to finish them.

Anyway I have an announcement to make. I am planning to write a sequel to the bastard child! It's going to be awesome! (I hope.) I will post more information about it soon.

Thank you nannily for reviewing again! I want to hear your opinion about this chapter as well.

Fred: To tell you the truth, I don't really like that pairing either but it fits in some stories.

lupin7891: Thank you so much!

Bye, guys!


	14. Chapter 14

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 14

_30 days until the party_

If Neville had to pick his least favorite place to wake up in, his choice would obviously be a hospital. He couldn't stand the smell of sickness and medicine that was always there whenever he walked into any place that had to do with health care. His fear of anything that had to do with dying was also one of the reasons behind this passionate hatred.

So imagine his horror, when he woke up on an uncomfortable bed with a bunch of bandages, covering up his head, and a doctor next to him, asking him about how he felt.

Let's just say that freaking out couldn't even compare to what Neville had felt at that moment.

His grandmother had come in the room after that, talking to him about transferring and other crazy stuff like that but he had made her, calm down and see that walking away was not the answer to their problem. They had to fight together, like they always did ever since his parents had died.

And then it was Hermione's turn…

"I am never leaving out of my sight again!" was the first thing she told him when she walked into the room, wearing her usual pair of jeans and a purple long-sleeved shirt. As soon as the door had closed behind her, she ran to him and hugged him tightly with tears in her eyes.

"I thought that I had lost you. When I saw you lying on the floor like that, terrible things came into my mind. I even prayed for you. I swear! I stayed up late last night, praying to a God that I don't usually talk to, to help you return to us."

Hermione sniffed a little and then whispered into her friend's neck.

"You… are very important to me. You know that, don't you? You are my only friend… so please, please… never let yourself be hurt like this ever again."

"I am not planning on it." said Neville "These bandages look terrible on me."

Small giggles escaped the girl's mouth as she raised her head to look at the brunet with sad eyes.

"Yea… you look like a mammy." She tried to joke and then sat on the white plastic chair next to the bed.

They stayed silent for a couple of minutes, staring at each other until they both started laughing together as if they could chase away all those bad memories with only a touch of happiness.

"You know…" Neville began "My grandma told me that there was a very helpful young man at our house last night. She said that he carried me all the way back from school with you…"

"Oh really?"

"Really. She said that he had… red hair?"

"He did."

Hazel eyes shined at the girl's unusual discomfort. Turning Hermione Granger, the most strong-minded person he had ever known, into a nervous mess was not something that you got to see every day. In fact Neville could barely remember the last time, he saw his friend in such a state.

"Was he someone I know?" he asked with a grin.

"It was Weasley." Hermione finally confessed "He heard me scream and… he then saved us. It's pretty simple."

"Really?"

"Really."

Suddenly the door opened and a young man with a big trolley full of different kinds of food came in. He was wearing the required male nursing uniform in a bright green color that made his grey eyes shine like two little diamonds. His dark brown hair were secured inside a thin skull cap with the hospital's logo on it but Neville could still see some stray locks escape their woolen prison. This unexpected entrance made the two friends forget their previous conversation and focus their attention on the handsome newcomer.

"I am sorry." The man said in a deep and masculine voice "I brought you lunch but I am afraid that your girlfriend has to go. Visiting hours are over for now. She can come again in the afternoon."

"She is not my girlfriend." Neville tried to say but Hermione cut him off.

"My friend is _gay_." She declared as she stood up from her seat "Got a problem with that?"

"_Oh no…"_ was Neville's first thought after he heard her hostile tone. This wasn't gonna end well. He didn't need any more enemies at that moment no matter how much Hermione was trying to protect him.

To his ultimate surprise, the guy just smiled and said

"If I had a problem with that then I would be a hypocrite. But I truly admire your support towards your friend. I wish I had people like you around me, when I had come out."

Hermione stood speechless in front of Neville's bed with her mouth open and her ears at the same color as her favorite red roses. A hand was raised towards her, making her snap out of her haze.

"I'm Cedric." The young man told her calmly. "It's really nice to meet you."

_I am a line_

A true Malfoy always knew how to make a good first impression. It was running in their blood, written inside their genes, carried throughout many generations of pale skinned men with blond hair. It was the reason why most of them had become successful businessmen, respected politicians and well-known lawyers. They knew that with a charming smile and the right body language, someone could win even the coldest clients. They were predators ready to kill.

And Draco had learned from one of the best: his own father.

Lucius Malfoy, the lawyer of the wealthy, a man with a seductive voice but sharp mind. He was famous for his countless murder cases but mostly for his powerful and emotional speeches, which made every woman on the jury cry like babies.

Inside the courtroom he was a God.

Draco tried to remember all of his valuable lessons now as he fixed the knot of his dark red tie in his car's mirror. "Dress in style." His father had told him "You can't even imagine how stupid people may become. They love beautiful things and if you present yourself right, they will see you as something special. That's how you get their attention. Use it wisely."

Approval was what Draco was going for this time. He had to impress Harry's guardians so that they could accept him as their nephew's new boyfriend or at least friend (Even though Harry hadn't agreed to the first one yet). It wasn't going to be easy but at least a guardian was a piece of cake in comparison to a parent. Especially if said parent had a gun in the house. That would have been horrible.

Not that Draco was glad that Harry's parents were dead. Not at all. He would rather have an overprotective father, asking him all kinds of weird questions and making him feel uncomfortable than see Harry's sad face when he realized that his parents weren't going to be around to help him with his first relationship. But Draco would never let him blame himself for it.

A year after the blond had met the basketball captain, he found out that the Potters had been killed in a horrible car accident and that Harry had been the only survivor. He was only a baby back then… and Draco knew that such a trauma couldn't be forgotten.

But enough of this! He had people to impress and boyfriends to win over! His plan was perfect in every single detail.

How couldn't it be? He had been thinking about it all night, ever since he got Harry's text message that invited to his house today. The plotting began after he read the message twenty times with a goofy smile on his face of course…

Anyways, when he made sure that his tie wouldn't leave his neck anytime soon, Draco got out of his car, checked his black button-down shirt one more time in its small mirror and then walked to Harry's doorstep with sure and quick steps.

Damn, he felt good today.

His dark jeans were comfortable, his hair was perfectly gelled on the top of his head and his intuition was telling him that nothing was going to go wrong with his day…

…until the door opened.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Nothing, not even his worst-case scenario could compare to what he saw in front of him.

A man around his forties was standing at the entrance of the house, staring at him with his calculating grey eyes, which were trying to hide behind the man's middle-length brown hair. His blue T-shirt was hugging his body almost lovingly, showing off his toned figure, but the brown stains on it were too distracting to let someone notice it. He had a cigarette between his thin lips and as the unhealthy smoke came out of his mouth, Draco realized that he still hadn't answered to the question.

"I-I am Harry's … friend, Draco. He asked me to come here today. I am sure that he informed you of my visit."

"He never said anything about an uptight ghost-like boy with fancy clothing. I guess that my godson has a really weird taste in…"

"Sirius!" a familiar voice was heard from the inside of the house, before the man could finish his sentence. "Who are you talking to?"

Draco had never felt this relieved to see Harry's face before. The brunet came almost out of nowhere and pushed 'Sirius' away from the doorway so that he could see their visitor better. A gentle smile appeared on his lips, when his eyes met Draco's pleading ones that screamed _'Help me, please…'_ over and over again. Those same eyes widened, when the third member of the group spoke.

"Don't worry, ducky. It's just your boyfriend."

Harry sighed heavily and answered

"I told you, he is not my boyfriend. We are friends from school."

"Yea, right! So you spent half of your day, cleaning our house for just a _friend_… and he dressed up like_ this…_" Harry's godfather pointed at Draco's outfit. "…to come here. Haven't I told you that trying to lie to me is never going to work, my little ducky?"

"Whatever." said Harry immediately and then turned to the silent blond boy in front of him. "Come in, Draco. We are going to my room because apparently my godfather decided to be rude today."

Draco followed Harry inside the living room without saying a word. Everything seemed to be very simple and elegant from the dark brown sofa in the middle of the room to the huge painting of an old lady above the fireplace. The woman of the portrait had a stoic expression on her face as if nothing in the world could make her happy anymore. Draco almost felt sorry for her. The two boys reached the wooden stairs of the house quietly and Draco realized that maybe Harry had indeed spent many hours to clean for him. There wasn't even a hint of dust in the air.

"Wait!" Sirius shouted at them. "Have I seen you somewhere before?" He asked Draco with suspicion.

"Um… I don't think so…" answered the blond in a low voice.

"Are you sure? Because I believe that I have seen this pointy nose and that shinny hair in the past."

"He is Lucius Malfoy's son, Sirius." said Harry without even turning his head. "The lawyer. The one, who is always on the news."

Sirius looked shocked for a moment but then started laughing.

"Really? Well that solves the big mystery for me." He managed to say after a few seconds. "Go ahead, boys… and keep the door open."

Harry didn't seem to hear the older man's words because when they reached his bedroom (second floor, first door to the right: Draco noted) he closed his door with a loud BANG! and locked it twice.

"Are you planning to do something bad to me, Mr. Potter?" asked the SS King with a naughty smile as he sat down on the comfortable bed with the dark blue comforter, which was facing the one and only window of the room. Now that he had the time to examine the other's appearance, he noticed that the colors of his clothing were a perfect match to the ones that dominated the walls and the furniture of the small bedroom. Blue pants at the same tone as the walls around them, a white T-shirt with a weird logo on it that matched the color of the carpet beneath their feet and a pair of old slippers, which were so brown that you cloud almost believe that they were a part of the wooden bookshelf to Draco's left. He was a perfect fit inside this place and no one could deny it.

Harry folded his arms on his chest and gave Draco a 'you are joking, right?' look.

"No… are you?"

"Only if you want me to." replied Draco but then added with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. "Do you?"

"What do you think?"

"…No?"

Harry smiled his gentle smile again and walked towards the bed. He sat next to Draco slowly and after making sure that the distance between them was acceptable, he said "See? You can be smart, if you want to."

A strangled groan escaped Draco's lips as he fell on the mattress with his hands on his face. He then remembered the original reason of his visit and asked

"Who were those guys yesterday? And how did they know about you? Or better yet… how many people know about you? It seems like there are a lot of them out there."

"Yes, there are…"Harry started with a sigh. "Well… you know that I didn't grow up with my parents, right?"

"Yes. You must really miss them."

"I do… I miss them very much. If they were here, everything would be different. Better. Happier."

"Is your godfather treating you badly? Is he hurting you?" the worry in Draco's voice was obvious.

"No!" Harry almost screamed. "He might not look like it but Sirius is an amazing guy. I wish that he was the one, who had raised me. But… I grew up in a horrible place, Draco. These people… they are true monsters, but they still are my only family. When I was little, I thought that I deserved to be their servant, because they were kind enough to take me in, when no one else wanted me. Or at least… that's what they wanted me to believe… I always knew that I was different from them, that I wasn't going to be normal like their precious son but I wanted them to accept me. To love me for who I really am. So I told them. Four months ago."

"What did they say?"

"They didn't like it. I was out of the house the next day, with no money, no cell phone and nowhere else to go. My friends didn't know about it and I definitely didn't want them to find out like this.

I slept on a bench that night.

The police found me in the morning and as it was expected they called my guardians to come and pick me up.

My aunt told them that she didn't have a nephew anymore.

The only number on their list after that was Sirius.

Next thing I know, I was sitting on this same bed with a previously unknown godfather as my guardian and a new life ahead of me. Sirius told me the story of how he met my parents, his struggles to take me away from those creatures that call themselves humans and how they didn't even let him see me. He said that he had always wanted to adopt me. That he felt like it was his duty to protect and raise me but he never got the chance to do it.

I told him everything. And I mean everything, even the true reason behind my arrest. He just stood there by the door and listened without making a single sound. We stayed like this for hours until my throat was too sore to make any sound.

And then he hugged me. That was his reaction to my darkest secret.

A hug.

I felt so happy that someone had accepted me. I needed that more than I needed air."

Draco's arms circled Harry's waist at that moment, bringing his body closer to his own and making his head fall onto his left shoulder.

"Continue…" he encouraged.

"But… those idiots just couldn't leave me alone. My cousin and his friends were chasing me all around school, telling me that they would reveal my anomaly to everyone. I wasn't ready, Draco. I wasn't ready to lose my friends in the same way I lost the only family that I had known, even though they had never been good to me. I wanted my secret to stay a secret.

So when they blackmailed me, I gave them what they wanted.

Sometimes it was money, sometimes they needed favors but whatever it was, no matter how crazy it was, I had to get it for them.

Until they asked for something that I simply couldn't give.

Myself."

Draco felt the fabric of his favorite shirt getting wet by Harry's tears but he didn't move away. He couldn't move away from a moment like this.

"They wanted me to spread my legs for them!" Harry sobbed "I was the abnormal one but they thought that fucking me was OKAY! They thought that they could use me as their blow-up doll!

Use me like a toy…

I-I-I ran away from them. When they trapped me inside the school. I ran and ran and ran but they were still behind me.

I had to protect myself and in my head there was only one way to do it."

Harry raised his head from Draco's shoulder and with still teary eyes, asked

"Do you remember the fire that burned out our school?"

"Y-Yes." was the other's answer.

"I started it. I ran to the laboratory and spilled every flammable liquid that I could find on the desks. Then I just lit up a match."

"But… you might have died." realized Draco with a gasp.

"At that moment, I wanted to die. If that could save me from being r… raped then I yearned for death to come and take me.

I guess someone up there wants me to continue living because they sent me help a few minutes later. Ron's father works as a fireman and he rescued me from the flames. I had to tell him and Ron the truth after that. They are the last ones, who found out about it, except from you of course.

Sirius was furious. He wanted to send Dudley and his gang to the cruelest place of hell but I begged him not to do anything. Instead we paid them to keep their mouths shut.

And so here we are. "

A soft kiss was placed on Harry's forehead, when he finished his long story. It wasn't a passionate kiss like the ones they had shared many times in the past. It meant something more this time, something that Harry couldn't name right now. It was something special but before he could ask about it, he heard Draco say.

"Can I tell you a secret as well? It's not as important or as tragic as yours but I feel like I have to share something with you. I need to talk to you about it."

"Of course. You can tell me anything."

Draco took a big breath that tickled Harry's cheek and declared in a low voice.

"My father is cheating on my mother. I don't know with whom but I know that he loves that person very much. More than he ever loved me…

I found out about it three days before I met you. We were going to go to the theater with some very important people, so I went to my parents' room to ask their opinion about my clothing. When I opened the door, I heard my father's voice, talking on the phone. It was pretty obvious that he was talking to his mistress.

He was asking her if she could see him after the show. I have never heard my father so desperate for something. He was almost begging. Lucius Malfoy was begging for a woman's attention.

I closed the door and ran to my room as he threw the phone to the opposite wall. I heard it crash and… well that's it.

I am the only thing that keeps my parents from splitting up. Without me my father would have filed for a divorce years ago. I am the one that is binding this family together.

That's why I tried to hate you. I thought that if I denied my feelings for you, I would become what my father wanted me to be. Maybe if I became normal, he would stay with us forever. But I don't want to do that anymore. I am tired of lying to myself about this.

Harry, I really lov…"

He didn't know what it was that made him do it. Was it that Draco had decided to talk to him about something so important and personal? Was it the way that his arms held him so tightly that he could almost feel the other's heartbeat against his hands? Or maybe it was the fact that Draco might have had hidden feelings for him for years!

Whatever it was, Harry found himself kissing Draco like his life was depending on it.

He shamelessly climbed on the blond's lap and forced his mouth open by biting his lower lip. How did he turn into such a slut in just a few seconds? He didn't even recognize himself anymore.

Draco moaned at the unexpected pleasure and moved his hands from Harry's waist to his hips. He wanted this. He wanted it so much. Now he almost understood those people, who said that you could become addicted to someone's kisses.

He would never made fun of those guys again.

As their tongues touched, a strange feeling, close to euphoria, clouded Draco's mind. He wondered if Harry would mind the stains on his beautiful sheets, when they were finished. He wondered if Harry would let him keep the lights on this time.

But then he wondered something else.

"Please, don't tell me that this is a test." He whispered against the brunet's lips.

"A test?"

"You know… a test to make sure that I wouldn't molest you before I prove myself to you."

Unfortunately for our little Silver Snake, Harry had never thought about that, but now that he had mentioned it the idea of such a test didn't seem so bad.

"Maybe…"

"You are killing me!" Draco shouted with frustration and a little bit of anger. "What do I have to do to make you realize that I… need you?"

Harry returned to his previous seat on the bed, leaving Draco's comfortable lap with a little regret in his heart. He faced the other boy with a sad smile on his face and said

"Nothing… I already know that you want me. I just want to make sure that you will want me tomorrow and in one week from now and the week after that… You see the problem between us is not that we don't desire for each other. We just proved that we do.

The problem is that there are more things that we need to work on to make this relationship work."

"This relationship? So… we are _in _a relationship?"

"Maybe… Don't you want us to be?"

A pale hand reached for Harry's tanned cheek and after placing a small kiss on his lips, its owner whispered

"Yes. I want this very much."

_I am a line_

Daisies were too informal. Roses always had a deeper meaning in them, something that he didn't want to show with his gift. Sunflowers were expected on a summer day not in autumn. Tulips looked terrible in bouquets.

White lilies…

Yes, they were perfect.

Pure

Innocent

Beautiful

Just like the person that would receive them.

He carried them in his hands carefully for half an hour, making sure that their petals would not be destroyed. His movements were slow and calculated so that nothing would harm his precious flowers. And when he walked into the warm room that the hospital provided to his friend, he placed them next to other ones on the table next to the bed.

"Hi." Neville greeted him with a smile. "I didn't expect you to come and see me."

Blaise sat on the only chair available, even though he hated any piece of furniture that had to do with such an awful and cheap plastic and smiled in his usual and polite way.

"I am your friend, Nev. Our pointless fight is not going to change that. Unless… you don't want to be friends with me anymore…"

"No! I do want to be your friend, Blaise, and I'm really glad that you're here."

"I want to be here." Blaise declared and after a pause he added. "And I want to leave the past behind us. Let's forget about it and start fresh."

Neville seemed to think about it for a few moments but when he spoke next his expression was calm and his voice had a hidden determination in it.

"If that's what you really want then I don't have any problem with it. But you need to do something about Grabbe and Goyle. I don't want to be beaten up again."

"It's already taken care of."

Yes… Blaise had already taken care of those two assholes. And he had done it with style.

A few months in juvie for illegal drug possession and trafficking would teach them not to mess with someone weaker than them ever again. Now all he had to do was to pay the guys, who placed the 'stuff' in the bastards' lockers.

Simple, fast and effective.

"Thank you. I knew that you would help me in the end, just like you promised. I only wish that you would have been there, when they tried to hurt me. Then nothing would have happened."

"_I wish that too…I wish that 'I' was there for you and not some weak version of myself."_ thought Blaise to himself.

A knock on the door made their small talk stop however, and a young man entered the room, holding one single pink rose in his right hand. He was too handsome to be good in Blaise's opinion.

"I am sorry. It seems like I am always interrupting something today but my shift is over and I thought that I could stop by to say hello."

"It's okay, Cedric. Come in…." said Neville with excitement. Blaise's blood started to boil at that reaction. "Blaise, this is Cedric Diggory. He has been a volunteer in the hospital for two years and we met a few hours ago, when he brought me my lunch. He is a really nice guy. Cedric, this is my best friend, Blaise."

Although he had disliked the man from the very beginning, Blaise's manners forced him to stand up from his seat and shake hands with the dangerous newcomer. In the back of his mind the words 'best friend' echoed like a bad written song that he desperately needed to forget.

"It's really nice to meet you." He said with politeness. "Don't get me wrong but aren't you a bit too young to be volunteering for a hospital?"

"I am 21." Cedric replied "My father is a doctor here and he recommended me to the chief. I am using this experience to practice for, when I'll get my own degree in paramedics."

"Fascinating…"

"Who is the rose for, Cedric?" asked Neville with the same excitement that made Blaise's body tense.

"Actually this is for you." The horrible and definitely dangerous newcomer said as he gave the rose to his friend. Blaise noticed that a small note was tied around the stem. "Since it's your last day here, I made you a goodbye gift."

"Thank you so much!" shouted Neville with joy but when he noticed the small piece of paper he turned to Cedric and asked "And what's this?"

"That's my phone number… and I really want you to use it"

_I am a line_

The sound of a cell phone broke the peaceful silence of the room that Narcissa Malfoy had tried so hard to create. Her concentration was destroyed in seconds and after untangling herself from her uncomfortable yoga position, she answered the call with an annoyed "Yes?"

"_Guess, who is in my house right now?"_

The familiar male voice of her cousin annoyed her even more.

"Who?"

"_Your son. Looks like your little dragon has finally decided to accept himself…" _

A/n: I am sorry, I am so sorry! I can't even describe how awful I feel for making you wait for so long! I have been very busy this month so I hope that you can forgive me for the delay.

I still don't know when I will have time to finish all those chapters that I want to write next, so please be patient.

Now to your reviews:

Nannily: I really enjoy reading your reviews. Looking forward to see your opinion for this chapter.

Newami: Thanks! I hope I didn't make you wait for too long!

Lilia0: Blaise really needs to get his act together. I still don't know how he will do it but I will find a way. And thank you for the hate raped thing. It inspired me to write Harry's storyline with Dudley in this chapter.

Teatreekni: Thank you so much for your comment! It's nice to know that you find my storylines interesting.

Bye!


	15. Chapter 15

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 15

_26 days until the party_

It was a very weird feeling, the one you got when you were in a relationship. And it was even weirder when that relationship was your first.

For Harry this thing with Draco had left him with an uncomfortable tightness in his stomach but mostly… in his pants from the very beginning of Draco's 'harassment'. Because seriously! The blond had been everywhere! Sitting on the right spot in every classroom they shared or when they were in the school's cafeteria, from where he could send small but heated glances at Harry's direction. Running close to him whenever they were training at the gym. Sending him all those inappropriate text messages that he could write so well if they weren't at school. The boy's methods had almost reached the level of a stalker's!

And after sleeping together and trying to avoid the handsome Malfoy for days, Draco became even more persistent and methodical in this chase, trying to catch Harry alone as often as he could and making him feel really uncomfortable. But throughout their journey to come to what they were today, Harry had never allowed himself to let Draco fill his mind and dominate his every thought.

Until now…

Now he couldn't stop thinking about him. Ever since Draco had left his house on Thursday, he had been thinking about him all the time…

He wanted to see him again, he wanted to touch him again and the intensity of this need was scaring him.

Time seemed to not be enough for them. They barely saw each other on Friday and during the weekend they had to spend time with their friends and confined themselves to texting one another, whenever they got the chance. Those messages filled Harry's heart with an unknown-before happiness.

"_When can I see you again?"_

"_I miss you…"_

"_Can I come at your house again on Monday? Please?"_

"_Is there any way that you could teleport yourself here? I need to see your face."_

It was a very weird feeling, the one, you got when you were in your first relationship. Because although Harry was almost physically hurting from his need to see Draco, the guilty pleasure and satisfaction that he felt because of his secret boyfriend's sweet words were something like an addiction to him.

And the fact that he could call the other boy his _boyfriend_ was making him even happier!

Oh god, what was happening to him! What happened to the Harry, who wanted to test Malfoy before he even dared to let him think about kissing him again?

Was he that desperate?

Whatever it was when Harry felt the gentle pull of an arm against his own while he was going to class on Monday morning and he was forced into the storage room, he couldn't control himself and let a smile enter his face.

"Good morning, Draco… did you really miss me that m.…?"

Saying those words, however, was not the best thing to do. Because the eyes that met Harry's as he turned around were not the sparkling grey ones that he expected. They were a pair of angry blue ones.

"You lied to me." whispered Ron with rage.

"Ron… let me explain…"

The redhead threw his hands in the air and started pacing around the small room so that he could have something to do other than yell to his best friend. His jeans had a small hole on them right at Ron's left thigh but Harry knew that this was not the right moment to point that out.

"I thought that I told you that I would be okay with you having a boyfriend! I thought that you trusted me!"

"I do, I trust you…"

"Bullshit!" Ron shouted "When things like that happen, you tell your friends about it. Unless there is a reason not to tell them, either you don't trust them or something is wrong with the person that you chose… and it can't be the last because it was pretty obvious from the way you kept looking at your cell phone during the weekend that you are completely smitten by this guy! Look I don't like Malfoy, I will never like him to tell you the truth, but if he makes you happy then I won't do anything to harm what you have. I am not some insensitive bastard! I can handle stuff like that. That's why I am here…"

Harry took a big breath, realizing that he couldn't hide something like that from Ron any longer, and said

"Ron… Draco and I have been officially together for almost four days now and we want to keep things a secret… I trust you not to tell anyone because you are my best friend and you have been there for me when I needed your help."

After staring at him for a few awkward moments, Ron surprised Harry by giving him a strong but quick hug.

"There… was it so hard to say it?" he whispered in a more satisfied tone this time and before opening the door to leave, added

"Tell him that I will break his fucking neck, if he even thinks about hurting you."

And with this last threat that the brunet knew, his best friend was definitely going to make it reality, if his boyfriend (again so happy to call Draco his boyfriend!) didn't treat him well, Ron left the room, leaving him completely speechless.

But he wasn't going to stay alone for long…

The door opened slowly and as the bright face of Draco appeared, Harry felt his heart rate become faster.

"Hey…" the blond said, walking inside the room and placing a small peck on Harry's lips "What did Weasley want?"

Harry let his arms circle Draco's neck and answered "Nothing much… he just wanted to learn what's going on between us."

"And what did you say?"

"I told him the truth."

Draco's smile was almost breathtaking but Harry didn't get the chance to examine it for very long because those lips were on his as soon as he tried to sneak a peek at them. And that kiss was literally breathtaking.

It was one of those types of kisses that started at an extremely slow pace with their mouths leaving one another from time to time to take a few doses of needed air and then turned into something a little more passionate and fast but without losing its original meaning and purpose. Draco's tongue caressed his own carefully but sensually and Harry head turned instantly into goo. He could almost feel his sanity leave his body and the weird thing was that he didn't care. Because Draco's taste (yes, Draco's mouth had its own unique taste not strawberries not oranges or something fruity like they told you in those fluffy little romance novels that his aunt used to read. Just a raw and natural flavor that had become one of Harry's favorite ones...) was the only thing that he could taste now, the pale hands on his waist was the only thing that he could feel, the sound of their heavy breathing was the only thing that he could hear and honestly… that didn't bother him at all.

It was one of those kisses that didn't necessary lead to sex but were still full of need despite their sweetness. Those kisses were not for the people, who were looking for release… they were showing far too many emotions to make a purely physical relationship work.

Those were kisses for lovers…

"Good…" Draco managed to say when they broke apart and regained their normal breathing "Now that we got the difficult part out of the way… how about we start telling more people?"

Harry's body froze at this suggestion, moving without its owner realizing it a little closer to Draco. It was as if his subconscious was trying to protect itself from all the hurt that he knew, was going to come.

"I don't know… like whom?" he said so that he wouldn't have to deny this wish from the blond so quickly.

"Well for starters, I was thinking about telling Blaise."

After nuzzling Draco's neck with his nose and taking a deep breath, Harry analyzed his options. It was pretty obvious that the other boy would want to tell his best friend about this… after all it was just like Ron had told him earlier: when things like that happen to you, you have to discuss it with the people that matter to you. And since Blaise mattered to Draco then there was nothing that he could do to stop him from talking to him. Even if he said no now, he was sure that Draco would tell everything to the other SS King anyway. After all he had already proved to Harry that no one could change his mind once he got something that he wanted.

Harry himself was the living proof of that.

"Fine… You can tell him but please wait until we are completely sure that this will work before you reveal it to more people."

Draco raised one of his perfectly shaped eyebrows and declared

"I don't need to be sure. I know that this will work."

"Oh yeah?" challenged him Harry "And how do you know that? We have just started going out with each other and I still don't know if you are worthy of my trust."

"I just know…" replied Draco with a smile. He then placed his right hand on Harry's cheek and staring right into his deep green eyes added

"You and I… we are meant to be, baby."

Ignoring the annoying pet name, Harry spoke in a soft and a little teasing tone, moving his own hands from Draco's neck to his shoulders.

"You know… Ron told me to warn you that if you even think about hurting me, he will break your neck. But now I don't think that he will get the chance to because I would have already opened up your head in two, if you ever chose to betray me.

That's what you get for promising too much too soon and making a poor boy like me, believe you…"

_I am a line_

Today was the day. Today she will say it, no backing up this time. She was going to say it and let things happen on their own speed. It was just one word after all, nothing to be scared about.

Nothing to be scared about…

Expect everything that this little word would lead to. And most of the scenarios inside her head were not very pleasant.

But she was going to say it, she was definitely going to say it today.

She had already made up her mind.

"Padma honey… I don't want to scare you but you have been staring at the gym's door for five minutes now. Aren't you going to get in? The boys are probably waiting for us."

Pansy's voice made Padma snap out of her inner monologue and look around her in shock. Most of the school's cheerleaders were standing behind her, waiting for her to open the heavy metal door and let them go to watch the basketball team's practice just like they did before any big game. The glares that they were sending to her made her realize that she had indeed been standing on the same spot for far too long because apparently she had lost her tough and violent personality somewhere and was scared of a boy.

Ha! As if!

"Are you going to open the door any time soon or will I have to drag you away from it?" asked Pansy with her usual sarcasm.

Finally after a small click, Padma opened the door and stepped into the wooden floor of the gym, thinking that maybe she wasn't ready for this yet. But fate as it seemed had other plans because at that exact moment a ball came to her and hit her on the leg. She picked it up quickly, ignoring the pain because she really needed to remain a badass right now, and searched for the boy, who threw it at her direction.

She heard footsteps coming towards her and raised her head to give the ball to whoever had come to get it. And of course fate just didn't want to leave her alone, because she sent the reason of her nervousness right in front of her.

"Hi!" greeted her Seamus with a smile and took the ball from her hands. He was wearing his blue gym uniform, which was far too revealing for a cold autumn day like this. Padma saw a drop of sweat run down his muscular chest as he tried to catch his breath from all the running and her mind shut down completely "How are you today?"

"Yes." She said without even thinking about it, trying to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Yes? Yes to what?"

Oh god! Really? She had to explain it to him? Could her life get any worse?

"To your question… My answer is yes." She tried to say without stuttering.

"I didn't ask anything." Seamus continued in the same confused tone. Was he really that stupid or was he teasing her? Either way she couldn't take it back now. It was too late and she had already made up her mind two days ago.

"To the… d-date." she stuttered "I am saying yes and you better understand it this time cause I am not going to say it again."

"FINNIGAN! Pass the ball already!" shouted the team's coach from the stands and pointed to the other angry team member, who, to Padma's horror, were all staring at them. But Seamus was just smiling like he had won the lottery…

"You really mean that. You are not going to take it back any time soon, are you?" he asked without caring about the other people around them.

Padma nodded a couple of times and then took a few steps backwards, saying

"No, I am not going to take it back. I am a Silver Snake, remember? We keep our words. Now go back to your game. We will discuss the details later."

But as she turned around and started to walk to the exit, a cheer of joy made her stop and smile to herself.

"SHE SAID YES, GUYS! I AM A TRUE CHAMPION!"

That right there was the reason Seamus Finnigan had won her heart. His raw honesty mixed with his humor and spontaneity were the ones that broke her walls down and let her true self show. He was like a breath of cool fresh air that burned your lungs and refreshed you at the same time. In simple words: he was good for her…

_I am a line_

"Draco…"

The blond boy didn't raise his head from his shoes, which he was trying to tie quietly in a tight knot, and instead chose not to respond to the girl's calling. He had just finished practice, he was tired as hell, hungry as hell and this was the last thing he needed right now. Not while every part of his body hurt from the extra effort and his mind was trying to keep up with a major headache.

"Draco… please talk to me…"

"And what do you want me to say, Pans?" he ended up, saying in the end. "What exactly do you want to hear me say?"

Pansy took a moment to stare at Draco, who had still not met her eyes and was sitting on the stands with his arms, touching the metal surface. Then she sighed twice and said

"I want us to get back together. I want you to say that you want me back."

"Well, I don't." replied Draco in a serious voice "I told you many times before, our relationship is over…"

"But _why_?" asked the brunet girl one more time as her eyes started to water.

"I have already explained the reason to you. You are smart, Pansy. I know that you can answer your own question."

"Then tell WHO SHE IS! Tell me what she has that I don't!" cried Pansy with tears now running slowly down her face.

This time Draco raised his head and stood up from his seat, staring at his ex-girlfriend's face with his shiny grey eyes. Those eyes made Pansy really uncomfortable because they showed her exactly how much she had annoyed the SS King and everyone knew that Draco was not someone to mess with, when he was in such a state.

"I don't have to tell you anything." he told her, using his ice-cold tone that was one of his personal favorites. His father had taught him that trick and it was always effective towards people like Pansy. Only Harry seemed to be immune to it. "My personal life is none of your business anymore. Only if you stop chasing me around and accept our break up, we will be friends again."

Draco tried to walk away, after saying that, but a hand around his arm stopped him.

"I love you… please don't end it like this."

His response to those words was sharp and simple because now he understood Pansy's pain and wanted her to forget about him as quickly as possible.

And only by hurting her, she would start to move on.

"Get your hands off me now. I don't want you to speak to me again unless you start thinking straight."

As Pansy's hand fell and the tears ran more freely on her cheeks, a pair of small blue eyes watched her from afar with interest. And when Draco disappeared behind the heavy door of the boy's locker room, the same eyes remained locked on her until their owner decided to follow the now running girl to wherever she was heading to.

Maybe this was the moment they've been waiting for.

_I am a line_

Running…

More Running…

Searching…

Looking everywhere

Desperation

Frustration

Fear

"Where is she?" wondered Theo out loud as he passed yet another classroom and still no sign of Pansy. "Where the hell is she?" he wondered again and continued his search with no success.

From the moment he saw the girl's face, when Draco had rejected her at the gym, he knew that some very bad ideas had gotten into her mind. Draco was her weak point after all but Theo would not let her ruin herself for him.

She had many reasons to be happy… unlike him… but that was not important right now.

There! There she was! Sobbing like she always did after talking to her ex-boyfriend and walking inside the… oh no… the girl's restroom.

Now that was a real problem. If he didn't go in there who knows what Pansy may do to herself. On the other hand, _if _he followed her inside who knows what the other guys would have to say about him! It was a lose-lose situation but Theo was a good friend and he wasn't going to let a few rude comments stop him from saving his best friend. And yes, Pansy was his best friend, no matter how depressing it was to have a girl take such an important place in his life.

But despite the strangeness of their situation, that specific girl had earned her title with ease and Theo would never dream of changing that. He remembered, wandering all alone in middle school, looking for a place to sit in his new classroom and being stared at by all those strange kids, who didn't seem to want to get to know him.

"You will sit with me." He heard a girl in the back, with her long black hair tied up in a ponytail, say. No, that's wrong. She didn't just say it, she'd demanded it. She made him sit with her during lunch too and then introduced him to all of her friends as her new best friend that everyone had to respect. And that's how their weird friendship had started with Pansy bossing him around like he was her personal assistant and him enjoying their long talks and her strong personality. She was his rock of support, his guardian angel whenever he needed her help and throughout the years he had become the same for her. Joining the SS two years ago had been her idea as well and Theo didn't need much convincing to follow her and stay by her side. They were friends forever. At least that's what the necklace that she had bought him on his fifteen birthday party said.

And best friends forever never forgot each other, even if before her break-up with Draco, Pansy hadn't been spending time with him as much as she used to.

So with that thought in mind, Theo didn't hesitate to open the restroom's door and walk into the pink hell that the boys called the girls' second home. The sound of crying and throwing up violated his ears immediately, making him freeze with horror until he decided that actions needed to be made.

"Pansy! Stop whatever it is that you are doing and get out of there!" he yelled at the closed bathroom stall.

"Pansy! Don't make me break the door! I will do it, if you don't come out in exactly 5 seconds! One! Two! Three! F…"

"Alright!" shouted a voice from the stall and a few seconds later the flush of a toilet was heard and Pansy appeared with red eyes that had deep black circles under them and her lips covered in some sort of yellow liquid that made Theo's stomach sick.

"Clean yourself up please…" he begged and turned his head away. From the one of the small mirrors on the wall, he could see Pansy walking to one of the sinks and throwing some water on her face. That's when he noticed that her hands were shaking.

"What happened to you, Pans? Why are treating yourself like that?"

Pansy didn't respond to Theo's questions but instead kept her hands planted on the white marble of the sink without meeting his eye, making the tall boy continue in the same tone

"Where is your strength, Pansy? I can't even recognize you anymore! If you continue with this… 'diet' then you will kill yourself! Do you want to die that much? Is that what you are trying to do?"

Hearing this, made the cheerleader look at her friend through the cold glass of the mirror and say in a challenging tone

"I am not the one, who has cut his wrists, Theo. I have a problem and I am trying to fix it. Suicide attempts are your thing."

"_No… not you too."_ thought Theo with a shocked expression on his face but aloud he said "I thought that we weren't going to talk about that again…"

"You brought up the subject, not me." Pansy mumbled "Be ready for the consequences."

"Pansy…"whispered Theo and hugged her from behind, placing his hands around her tiny waist that was definitely not supposed to be this small. He put his nose at the top of her head and took a big breath so that he could inhale her flowery-scent perfume that always seemed to calm him a little. He wanted to say so much but stay quiet at the same time. He wanted to run, to destroy everything around them but still remain motionless and let things stay the same. He wanted to shout but in the end he only managed to whisper

"I don't want to die… and I don't want you to die either. I really don't. Can you do this for me please? Can you at least try to stay alive for me? Until this thing kills me? Can you? Please?"

"No one is going to die, Theo. Stop being dramatic." declared Pansy but this time, using a softer tone and caressing one of the brunet boy's hands with her thumb.

"Promise?" came a small voice from above her.

"I promise."

"So you will stop this?"

"Yes. No more puking for me. Come on now, let's go." she said and after taking his hand into hers, she guided Theo out of the restroom, ignoring the few tears that he was trying to wipe out of his face.

But when the door closed behind the two friends, another figure appeared from a stall at the far end of corridor. Ginny Weasley smiled evilly as she thought about what she had discovered.

Two birds with one stone. Oh Tom was going to love this.

_I am a line_

"Blaise, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure." Blaise said after placing his books inside his locker and closing its door in one quick move. "What do you want?"

Draco didn't look like his usual self today, the dark skinned boy noted. He had been staring at him during all of their classes as if he wanted to say something but then always changed his mind. It was a little bit unnerving.

And the strangest thing was that Blaise had never seen his best friend like this, not even when the other boy had taken his favorite toy-car away from him without asking when they were eight. This had to be something important.

"Um… I… Can we go somewhere else? I don't want people to hear us." Draco finally asked, looking around him with alert.

Blaise was about to agree and follow him but something a little more important than their conversation caught his eye.

"I am sorry, Dray but I have to go now. Call me later and we will continue this."

"But…" Draco tried to say but his friend was already moving away from him.

The thing that made Blaise leave Draco behind so easily was not something special. In fact it was very simple and ordinary, something that he saw every day.

It was Neville.

The shorter boy was walking alone down the corridor (apparently Hermione had started hanging out with Weasley. Blaise had already had a plan in mind for those two) with his bag on his shoulders, ready to return back home from a tiring day at school like everyone else was doing. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt in his favorite color, purple and jeans that were a little too long for him. Neville, despite the fact that he was rich, had no sense of style in him. Now if you asked someone to tell you what was wrong with this scene, they would have said nothing. But for Blaise a very specific detail was missing.

"Hi, Nev." Blaise waved at him. "No books today, huh?"

"Yeah…" started the hazel-eyed teen with a little anxiety in his voice. "Cedric has come to pick me up today and… well he brought his motorcycle. He told me that my hands had to be free in order to let me ride with him."

"Oh… that's… that's good, I guess. You two really get along well." noted Blaise with rage. So mister Male-Nurse was smarter than he looked. He had underestimated him.

"Actually, we do. We talk on the phone a lot, share experiences, discuss my future. He thinks that I should consider working with plants professionally. He really believes in me." Oh god, why did he have to smile so much?

"And you like him a lot, don't you?"

Neville didn't need to think about it a lot to answer "I do. Now if you excuse me…"

"More than you like me?"

Well this was totally unexpected. Neville was just about to walk away from him and Blaise's mind decided to stop working. What was wrong with him? He really should start thinking before acting, when the other boy was around. If he had kept his mouth shut then those beautiful hazel eyes wouldn't have been looking at him right now as if he had killed a puppy.

"I thought that we were going to leave the past behind." Neville said, after regaining his voice.

"You didn't answer my question…."

A deep sigh left the shorter boy's lips as he took a few steps towards Blaise and said with the most hostile tone, anyone had ever heard him use

"I will answer your question, only when you will have the right to ask it. Not while you are still running after Hermione!"

"But…" Blaise tried to say but this time he was the one, who was left behind…

_I am a line_

"… and then they left the restroom together, crying! See? I did it! I found their weaknesses!"

Despite Ginny's excitement and Dean's happy nodding at her words, Tom was not pleased yet. The three of them with the addition of Colin had been meeting each other secretly after school at his house, so that the Weasley girl could report about her findings. Most of those times, there hadn't been any useful information about Pansy Parkinson. As it turned out the head cheerleader was just a little too depressed by her break up with Malfoy and was trying to make him change his mind by crying and begging. But everybody knew that already.

It was a big surprise for him to know that his spy had actually done her work for once. But there was only one problem.

"Where is your proof?" asked Tom from his seat on his father's favorite red couch, where he was sitting in between Dean and Colin.

"Proof?" wondered Ginny, who was the only one standing up and was looking at him now with confused eyes.

"Yeah, proof. You know something that can prove what you just said, like photos or some recording?" continued Tom but this time with sarcasm painted in his voice.

"I don't have any of those… but with this we could start a rumor about them! It will destroy them!"

I don't want to start RUMORS!"

Tom's scream made everyone in the room freeze with terror. They had never seen the short boy lose his temper before and the experience was almost terrifying. Dean, after blinking a few times, was the first one to speak.

"Hey, chill out a little, dude. She did a good job!"

"Sorry…" whispered Tom as he stood up and started pacing in front of the others. "It's just that… they could always deny a rumor and I don't want our efforts to be for nothing. I want everyone to see the truth and believe it. I need to be able to prove what I am saying."

"I will get your proof." declared Ginny "The next time she will go into that stall, I will have my camera ready."

"No, you did a good job, believe me, but now that Parkinson promised Nott that she won't puke again, we need to find a reason to make her forget her promise…"

After thinking about it a little a smirk light up Tom's face and he added

"… and I've got the perfect solution for our problem."

A/n: I am so Tired! But I hope that you liked this chapter, Please let me know what you think by leaving one of those wonderful reviews that I love so much!

Nannily: Wow, so many things to talk about! Well… first I really enjoyed writing this Harry-Draco scene. I am glad that you like it. (Plus I always wanted to make Draco wear a red tie!), second Blaise and Neville are still on, guys! As you can tell from this chapter, I am not finished with them. Third, your tattoo must be awesome! And last but not least Sirius's badass in this storyline but a sweet badass. His conversation with Narcissa will be explained in the future. (Love the line thing btw.)

Fred: Ron has always something to say, when something is going on in Hermione's life. Wait and see!

Newami: Another big review! I love those! It's too late to use the 'last time' thing that you suggested in this storyline (I have written too many chapters and the readers that are following this story now will get confused by the sudden changes) but I may use it in future fics. It's a great idea. As for your reaction to the previous chapter: It makes me really happy that you liked it! Cliff endings help me to keep the readers' interest till the end of the story, although I think that I might be doing it a little too much… but I love them! Thank you so much for your kind words and suggestions, and I hope that this chapter has entertained you as much as the other ones.

Guest: Welcome, reader! Thank you for the review. I am looking forward to read your reaction to this storyline. (Next time write a nickname so that I will know that it's you.)

Teatreekni: It's nice to know that people that people feel special by my answers and that they like my stories. It's those people that make me want to continue writing!

Bye!


	16. Chapter 16

Behind the Silver Masks

Chapter 16

_25 days until the party_

Long and wavy strands of dirty blond hair were moving along with the wind, dancing with each touch that it delivered to them, twisting and turning in the most interesting ways as a pale hand searched frantically for the required car key inside a bright blue purse. It was cold outside, too cold for the young woman to handle in just her cheerleading uniform with the short skirt that barely covered her thighs.

Suddenly the sound of metal against the pavement made the hand move away from its warm hiding place and drop on the ground to continue its search.

"Looking for this, Lavender?"

Light brown eyes focused on the male figure in front of them as their owner, Lavender Brown stood up and with a grateful smile tried to get her keys from the boy's strong hold.

"Thank you, Blaise! Pansy will kill me if I don't get her everything that she needs within ten minutes. Aren't you supposed to be in the gym right now?"

Blaise didn't answer her question and instead raised the keys higher so that Lavender couldn't reach them. It was true, he was supposed to be inside the gym with his team, preparing for their next match but right now he had other things to deal with.

"I need to ask you a favor but don't worry it will be a very easy job. You'll only have to use your great lady skills. " he said and then took a step backwards, leaning into the girl's car door behind him. Lavender seemed not to understand what he was saying (because let's face it she wasn't very bright) so Blaise tried to explain it to her without rolling his eyes.

"I want you to seduce someone. Not something serious, just for a couple of weeks and then you can leave him. You are a very lucky girl, Lav-Lav. I am giving you the opportunity to be the one, who does the dumping this time."

The horrible nickname made Lavender narrow her eyes and walk towards the SS King, saying in a warning tone

"No. I am not going to do anything for you. Now give me my keys back or I am going to tell Padma and let her kick your ass. She has done it before…"

The threat didn't seem to bother Blaise, who played with the small star shaped key-chain in between his fingertips. God, he hated pink but the effect and the power that that movement gave him, made the contact with the color worth it. It was always a good thing to let people realize that they could not mess with you, couldn't harm you with their words. So he threw the keys in the air once… twice… three times, waiting patiently for the girl's next move. Their fierce staring contest continued throughout this whole silent moment and when Blaise realized that Lavender was not going to do something interesting, he decided to use plan B.

"Wrong choice of words there, Lav-Lav. I was hoping that you had at least some intelligence within you so that you'd realize what's good for you but since that's not the case… then how about I rephrase my proposal, huh? Let's see. You will do what I say or I will show everyone those cute pictures that we took when we were still together. Remember those?"

A horrified expression crossed Lavender's face at the mention of the pictures and Blaise tried really hard to keep a straight face at her reaction. He had really missed this part of him, his dark side, the part that loved to blackmail and to manipulate the ones, who got on his way. He loved the feeling of being the one in control, something that he had almost forgotten ever since Neville had appeared in his life. It was that side of him that had created the SS and even though its members had been starting to drift apart from one another, he would never regret his decision. He would have done it again, given the chance.

"You… you kept them?" Lavender asked with terror "You actually kept them?"

"And why not? They proved to be really useful. Now…" Blaise paused and threw the keys one more time in the air "Are you going to do what I ask you to?"

"Anything! Anything you want! Just please, please don't show them to anyone!"

It was too easy… almost too easy for Blaise to actually enjoy it. But he did. He enjoyed every single minute of it. Nothing could compare to the feeling you got when your plans succeeded. This perfect satisfaction that crossed your entire body as you saw everything fall into place.

He had really missed it so much.

_I am a line_

A plan. That's what it was. Ginny Weasley was part of a detailed and well organized plan. She was the star, the main character of the story, the most valuable part of a very important machine that could either help them reach their ultimate goal or destroy everything with one simple move. Unfortunately her new role came with a lot of work and responsibility. One single mistake could turn all of her efforts into ashes and she definitely didn't want that to happen.

"You remember what you have to say to him, right?"

The sudden question startled Ginny a little but not enough to let it show. After all Dean was her teammate now and just like in basketball, they had to play as a team. They had to trust each other; those were the rules of the game.

"Of course." She said with her usual confidence "Tom made me rehearse them thirty times before he made sure that I got them right. I know what I am doing."

Although, they had their own secret game to think about, an actual one was going to take place in a few minutes inside the school's gym and everyone was getting ready for the second match of the year for the Silver Snakes with a frenzy that only teenagers could have. The cheerleaders were practicing their moves in the corner so that they wouldn't disturb the basketball players on the court while the audience was sitting on the stands, creating a soft buzz with their little conversations.

Ginny stared at Harry's toned back from afar as the captain shouted as many orders as he could to his team and ran around to give them further instructions. He was inside his natural environment and Ginny could hardly restrain herself not to talk to him. She had always loved to see him like this, so powerful and handsome in his uniform. But this was all part of the plan…

"Ginny… I still like you, you know… so… if you want, we could…" Dean tried to say but he was cut off by the girl's girly squeal.

"There he is! Okay, time to start. How do I look?"

"You look great…." told her the basketball player after examining her with his eager eyes. He lingered for a few seconds at the milky pale legs that appeared under the dark blue skirt with desire written all over his face and then continued to the not so revealing top that had the words _Snakes_ written on it and was covered partly by Ginny's flaming red hair. Dean adored those shiny locks.

"Perfect. I am going in. Good luck to you too."

And with those words Ginny walked away, not knowing that Dean's eyes followed her every move, at the direction of a guy that she had never talked to before… Draco Malfoy, the SS King himself and for the time being, her first target. The blond was standing all alone, with sweat running down his face and a small water bottle swaying dangerously in between his fingers. He had a satisfied smile on his face and Ginny wondered why he was trying so hard, when he wasn't even going to play in the game. It was as if he was trying to impress someone…

Slowly and with a tiny but noticeable shake of her hips the petite girl stepped in front of Draco's field of vision and fluttered her eyelashes, when she got his attention.

"Hi there… Draco." she said in a playful tone "I am Ginny, remember? Ron Weasley's younger sister?"

"No." answered Draco. He didn't look very happy to see her because he kept glancing back on the court, searching for something with his eyes. He surely wouldn't mind, if she disappeared right before him or even if the ground suddenly opened to take her inside its deepest depths. But unfortunately for him, Ginny had her orders and she wasn't going to go anywhere until she had fulfilled her purpose.

"I see that you are getting ready for the match! Are you excited?" she continued without losing her own excitement.

"Not really."

"You should be. Even though you are not playing today, you can still watch our routine from your seat without any distractions…"

Draco was ready to protest but Ginny's next words made the sentence die on his lips.

"… or don't you like girls anymore? Don't you find us attractive, Draco?"

Yes! She got it! The perfect tone, the right body language… even the little naughty smirk that Tom had told her to use at that exact line. She didn't know why she had to say those things or why Draco looked so shocked by her accusation. The boy was obviously straight, why did he look so worried?

She didn't care anyway.

The only important thing right now was that her trick had actually worked and as she went back to her previous position and in a safe distance from the pale and still frozen basketball player, she felt proud of herself like she never had before. She just hoped that Dean had been successful as well.

The lucky bastard didn't have to do much. His job was only to walk casually to his best friend, Seamus, who ever since he had won Padma, was always by his new girlfriend's side and make a comment like:

"Damn! Malfoy is ruining everything for me! I swear if he keeps on flirting with Ginny, I am going to leave some very nasty bruises on his face! I was trying to talk to her earlier but as soon as he saw us, he took her away from me! Look! They are together right now!"

And then Padma would notice and make Pansy notice as well.

Piece of cake…

However she still had two more things to do. The first one was another part of Tom's strategy. When the time for the cheerleading routine would come, Ginny was going to do the most seductive dance, she had ever done in front of an audience while looking Draco straight in the eye and blowing him kisses as many times as she could. Pansy was going to be furious.

The second thing didn't have anything to do with Parkinson. It wasn't something that Tom told her to do or something that was expected from her to achieve. To tell you the truth, no one even knew about it. She had just found the perfect opportunity to make Harry jealous again and she wasn't going to let it slip out of her fingers.

Maybe her new alliance with Tom had taught her something. Maybe… this time Harry would see how much they fit together.

She was certainly not going to give up.

_I am a line_

"Harry! Come on, mate! Please you need to go out there and tell her to leave! I can't have her running after me!"

The basketball team's captain smiled at his best friend's panic and tossed his dirty uniform inside his big gym-bag. It was a truly hilarious sight to watch Ron mumbling to himself and taking deep breaths like a girl, who was waiting for the bad guy to appear in a horror movie. And all of this was happening because of a girl!

"Oh Ronald… Don't tell me that you are afraid of her! She's barely half your size. Just tell her that you are not interested." he said, trying not to laugh, when he saw Ron's horrified expression.

"I am not afraid of her! She is just so… persistent! I mean I don't even know her and she suddenly decides that she likes me and wants to be together! I swear, she said that she wants to tattoo my name on her arm! She is crazy, Harry! CRAZY!"

It had been too sudden; Harry had to agree with that. Lavender Brown was a quiet girl (something quite unusual for a cheerleader), who had never talked to them before or even acknowledged their presence whenever they were in the same room. Her interactions with Ron were something less than non-existent and it had come as a surprise when she started taking an interest in him… a few hours ago.

Throughout the entire game, she had been shouting Ron's name, encouraging him to run faster and keep his eyes open. The redhead had been very happy to know that he was going to take Grabbe's position on the team for a few months until the other boy could return from being expelled (Harry still hadn't found out why) but now after Lavender's very embarrassing outburst, he was almost tempted to never play again. It had been really humiliating.

"Okay, okay… I am going! But remember that I am doing this because you promised to buy me coffee tomorrow. And I am going to buy the most expensive one!" Harry declared while walking to the locker room's door. He wouldn't do something like that of course, he was far too considerate for it but teasing Ron had always been a fun thing to do and he needed that right now. He needed a distraction from Draco's unusual behavior. The other boy had barely talked to him today and even when they had a chance to be alone during the breaks but the blond had chosen to watch the cheerleading routine instead of following him somewhere where no one could see them. That looked a little bit suspicious to him.

"Fine! I'll buy you your stupid coffee!" shouted Ron and pushed Harry out of the room with a friendly shove that might have had some unnecessary force into it, making the brunet stumble outside with a small yelp. The door closed behind him quickly but before he could even voice his protest, he was surrounded by a small group of screaming girls.

Before any of them could speak, however, Lavender shouted.

"Harry! Harry! Is Ron in there?"

Harry answered her question as calmly as he could, noticing that a pair of amused blue eyes were staring at him from afar, waiting for him to finish his job with a patience that he had never seen Ginny use before.

"He's got some things to do… and he doesn't want you to wait for him in this cold corridor. He said that you should go and he will talk to you tomorrow."

Lavender didn't seem to like that but still she left without any complain. A sigh of relief left Harry's lips, which turned into one of distress as he realized that his work wasn't over yet. Many girls attacked him at once, asking about the other guys or even trying to flirt with him, saying that winning two games in a row was really hot or that he looked good in shorts. What was wrong with these people?

Thankfully (or maybe not as it turned out later), Ginny decided to come to his rescue, pushing everyone that got in her way and dragging him into a deserted corridor. She smiled at his breathless "Thanks." and took a small note out of her jacket's pocket.

"No need to thank me Harry… that's what friends are for. Anyway… could you do me a small, very small favor?"

"Um… sure? What is it?" wondered Harry, ready to say no, if the favor was something more than 'small'. He had known Ginny ever since she was a baby and although she was a very cheerful and loyal person, her demands were sometimes too…. well… _demanding_. He could recall many memories, where Ron and he had searched all over town for the craziest things that Ginny had suddenly decided that she wanted for her birthday. Most of those times, Ron had cursed his sister to hell and back.

But, to his ultimate surprise, Ginny's favor was something very easy and doable but really suspicious at the same time.

"Can you give this note to Draco Malfoy, please? I know that you two don't get along very much but you are the only one, I can trust… Dean would never do something like this without asking his stupid questions and you can see that my brother doesn't want to have anything to do with him, so… will you do this one little thing for me? Please?"

"Why Malfoy?" asked Harry while trying not to stutter from the unsettling possibilities that entered his mind. "Why would_ you_ want to have anything to do with Malfoy?"

Ginny placed one finger against her lips, smiling at the brunet's annoyance and whispering in a serious tone.

"That… is private. But let's just say that Draco and I had been… talking a lot those past few days. Give him the note and he will understand."

She pushed the small piece of paper in his hand and walked a couple of steps away. Then, as if she had remembered something, she turned around and after making sure to meet Harry's eyes, said

"Oh! And please don't read it. Like I said before, it's… private."

Private…

That word was burning the poor boy's mind along with a curiosity that he had never felt before. As soon as Ginny had become a small red dot, disappearing under the limited light of the corridor, his hands begun to twitch, to itch and to hurt at the same time, wanting to move, to tear the paper apart, to make it disappear forever, as if it had never existed.

He stood still for a couple of minutes, hoping that after he had calmed himself down, the feeling would go away but nothing changed. The curiosity was winning against his sane mind that told him that this was wrong, unethical…

Private…

The shaking returned, more violent than the last time, making him close his eyes tightly so that he could resist temptation. But his hands were already moving on their own accord, opening the note with two quick movements. He didn't want to see, why was his body torturing him? He didn't want to know, didn't want to realize that all of his fears were proved to be right, that Draco had indeed betrayed him…

The tears started to run down his cheeks slowly as his eyelids opened to let the light come into the bright green orbs. One of the hands that were holding the note moved instantly to the brunet's mouth, covering a sob that had almost escaped the tightly sealed lips. The same hand was the one that ripped the paper in two small pieces, dropping it on the floor before its owner started to run with only one thought in his mind.

Betrayal

_Thanks for the wonderful night. Let's do it again sometime._

_XOXO G. _

_I am a line_

Nothing…

Nothing could help her now. She was gone. Not gone too far but enough so that her friends could not reach her. She was lost and hurt and panicked and there was only one place for her to hide.

The girl's bathroom.

How could he do this to her? Betray her with her worst enemy? Didn't he have any shame?

How could he forget their time together? How DARE he?

She was gone. Gone too far to remember her promise, too far to care. And as she started to puke, the thought of forgiving blue eyes that had always been there for her distracted her from her current situation.

Because she was gone. Gone too far to notice the camera that was hanging above her, recording her every move…

_I am a line_

"Nice game tonight!" Draco began with a loud voice, trying to hide his nervousness from his best friend. They were walking together towards the locker room after being held back by his parents, who had been wondering why their son hadn't played in the game. Draco had reassured them that this was just temporary but they still wanted to learn the details. His mother had even asked about Harry! She said that he was a really handsome young man and that she looked forward to meet him some day, if Draco gave her the chance. The young man couldn't decide if he wanted to answer with a "Me too." or just run to the furthest corner of the school so that no one could find him.

Either way, he still felt a little glad that his mother seemed to like Harry… even without knowing how much he meant to him.

And now he had a bigger problem to attend to. This was the perfect opportunity to tell Blaise the truth, to reveal his secret. Now that people like Ginny had started to notice, he needed to say it more than ever. He just had to find a way to start.

"Yea… It was. I have to admit that Potter is a better captain than I expected. He has a true talent." Blaise said while readjusting his gym bag on his shoulder.

"Speaking of Potter…" Draco whispered "I wanted to tell you something. Well you see… Harry and I…"

The sound of loud laughter interrupted Draco's attempt and the two friends turned to see the most unusual thing that both of them had ever seen inside their school. A young couple was standing in front of some rusty old lockers, smiling to each other like the most amazing thing just happened to them. They seemed to be trapped into their own little world, not even noticing their audience. The unusual part was that they were both boys.

The taller of the two had his hands wrapped around the other's waist and placed a small kiss on his right cheek, giving Draco the chance to see the shorter one's face. Draco recognized him immediately. It was Longbottom, Hermione's best friend.

"I hate him." he heard a whisper, coming from his right. "I hate him so much. He thinks that just because he found a boyfriend, he can bring him here and rub it on our faces. Well I hate him. I hate him and everyone like him."

Draco froze at Blaise's declaration. All the courage that he had gathered for this event, all the confidence and the strength suddenly disappeared from his body. So it was true then… Blaise was really a homophobe. In the back of his mind, Draco had always known it. His best friend hated people like him, people like Longbottom…

All these years of friendship, every single minute they spent together would be vanished within seconds if he told him his secret now. And really… was it worth it?

Was his relationship with Harry worth losing such a friend?

And why did he have to choose?

Why did he have to sacrifice something in order to be happy?

No. Not now. He couldn't deal with it now. He needed time. More time to see whether or not he could change Blaise's opinion. He needed to talk to Harry about this.

Now.

"Blaise…" Draco said to his friend in a calm and quiet voice, hoping that the others wouldn't notice them. "We have to go. This is none of our business. Come on… Go and find Granger. We still have a bet to win."

His words seemed to wake Blaise up from his haze because the boy started to blink a few times before turning his gaze away from the happy couple and focused it on the person next to him.

"Right." He replied and then began to walk away without a single glance to the others. Draco noticed that although, his voice sounded a little more steady this time, it still had none of its usual power in it. He wondered whenever or not, this incident had affected Blaise more than he wanted it to show. Maybe his dislike for homosexuals was deeper than he thought.

They tried to leave the partly empty corridor without making Longbottom and his boyfriend see them but there weren't that lucky. Because right when they were walking past them, the short boy moved his face away from the young man's neck and sent a heated glare at Blaise's direction, as if he was challenging him to say something about this with his eyes. Blaise's reaction, however, was only to give them both one of his favorite guy-nods-of-acknowledgement and continue his trip to the locker room without doing or saying anything else.

At the same time, Draco's cell phone buzzed inside his pocket and the blonde took it out, hoping that Harry was the one, who texted him in this difficult moment. He was right, it was indeed Harry but the tone of the message was not similar to the one from all the previous ones that they had exchange.

_Come to the usual classroom NOW. I need to talk to you- H _

_I am a line_

There was only one window inside the classroom that Harry and Draco usually met whenever they had free time to see each other. Its dirty glass, stained for the many years of disuse prevented anyone from seeing what was on the other side of it, proving that that particular room hadn't been cleaned up in years. No one seemed to care about the oldest and smallest classroom of this school, not even the janitor.

Not important… that's what it was.

That's what Harry was too…

The few tears that had managed to escape earlier as he was trying to decide what he was going to do about Draco, had already dried on his cheeks but he still felt like shit. He placed both of his hands on the cold surface of the teacher's desk, lowering his head a little so that he couldn't see the other boy enter from the door in front of him. He needed to keep his brain in check because one small mistake could be lethal. One single glance at Draco could be fatal for what he was trying to achieve…

And suddenly he wasn't alone anymore. The door was opening and a pair of feet stumbled inside. Harry kept his eyes down, hissing when Draco tried to get close to him.

"Stay where you are. Don't come any closer."

"Is everything okay, Harry?" asked the blond with a confused expression on his face.

"You tell me…" answered Harry, giving into temptation one more time and raising his head to look into those grey eyes, which were definitely going to ruin him one day. "Is everything okay? Are _we _okay?"

"I think so… why? What happened?"

Anger filled Harry's veins at that moment. Gone were the sadness and the self-pity. Hello rage and frustration.

"You LYING son of a bitch!" he shouted, searching for something to throw to him, something that was going to make him hurt like he was hurting right now. He finally decided to use one of the chairs that were lying carelessly around the room.

Draco dodged the attack and shouted back. "What's wrong with YOU? Why are you angry all of the sudden?"

Another chair flied towards him, when he finished talking and then another and another. They even kept coming throughout Harry's next words, which was making Draco more confused than he was before. He had barely managed to avoid some of them before he could take one step closer to his visibly upset boyfriend.

"WHY? You've got the nerve to ask Why? You… You've got no shame at all! I thought that I could trust you! I was foolish enough to trust you, yet you still betrayed me! I knew that I shouldn't have done it… And I fucking TOLD you! I told you that a relationship is supposed to be between two people who can at least tell the truth to each other! Why did you lie to me?"

The tears were back now and they weren't just a few. It was as if a whole thunderstorm had begun behind Harry's eyes and it couldn't stop. Not while his heart was aching under his chest.

"Why did you have to lie?" he said in a broken voice. "I wasn't going to say anything… Why did you come back after _that_ night, begging for a relationship, when you didn't want one in the first place? Why… Why did you promise so much, when you are not capable of giving it? Did you do this to hurt me? Because you've done it! I am hurt!"

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?" Draco muttered and took another step forward, when he saw that there were no more chairs for him to hide from.

"And you still deny it! I thought that you had at least some dignity! Obviously you don't even know what it is!"

"Harry! Calm down and tell me! What happened?" repeated the taller boy as he searched for a way to make everything right again.

Harry, on the other hand, wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He couldn't find any strength within him to continue this pointless fight anymore. It was hard to even stand next to Draco right now, when he was this vulnerable. So he decided that revealing the truth to the other boy might be his ticket out.

"Ginny came to me today."

At the mention of the redhead's name, Draco froze in the middle of his next step and asked "And what did she say?"

"She gave me a note…"

"And what was the note about?"

"Don't you know?"

"Should I?"

A short snort was heard from Harry after that question, followed by a soft but breathless whisper.

"You continue to disappoint me… I would have appreciated some honesty at a time like this but since you don't want to give that either, I will explain it to you."

Harry took a deep breath and continued "The note was about your little meeting… I don't know what you did together and I never want to find out but you have to understand that after this, our… 'relationship' is over."

"WHAT?" screamed Draco from the shock.

"Didn't you hear me? I said-"

"I know what you said!" the blonde interrupted as he finally walked as close to Harry as he could. He raised his hand and added in a more controlled voice this time "Give me the note."

"Why?"

"If Weasley's little bitch of a sister thinks that she can ruin what we have, then I want to see how she is trying to do it. Give me the note now."

Looking around the room so that he wouldn't have to meet Draco's intense stare, Harry scratched his neck and thought about the two small pieces of paper that were probably lying somewhere on the floor of one of the school's corridors. Maybe he shouldn't have thrown those away. Now he didn't have any evidence that what he said was true. Draco was definitely going to say that he made all this up…

"Give me the damn note, Harry!" demanded Draco again.

"I don't have it, okay? I destroyed it! I didn't want to have anything to remind of what you did!"

Draco's hand fell on his side, when he heard this. "I didn't do anything!" he declared "This whole mess is a big lie! The Weasley-girl has planned this to trick us! Did you know that she came to me today, dropping hint after hint about my sexuality? She must have found out something about us and wants to have some fun with it!"

"She… knows?" wondered Harry aloud but then shook his head in denial "No, she wouldn't do something like this even if she knew. She is not a bad person!"

"And you think that I am? I mean… you obviously do, otherwise you wouldn't believe her lies but… think about it from my perspective. Why would I want to sleep with her, when I am in love with you? I went through all this trouble to finally have you and you think that I will toss this, toss _us _away for a girl like Ginny Weasley? I am not that evil… or stupid. And besides we have been talking on the phone every day since we got together. You know where I was every hour of the day! I didn't have the time to meet her! I promise you that I will talk to her tomorrow and clear things up."

And just like that all the anger and the hurt disappeared from Harry's face, leaving only confusion and a hint of hope on the handsome features. Deep green eyes widened at the realization of the deeper meaning inside Draco's words as their owner asked "You are in love with me?"

A smile appeared on Draco's lips as he answered "Of course I am. I tried to tell you many times but you kept interrupting me." He stepped right in front of Harry and with the hand that he had asked for the note, touched his cheek softly. "I love you… and if you want, I will shout it from a rooftop. I will tell everyone. I don't need any girl and especially not Ginny Weasley, when I have you right here… right now. I don't need anyone… just you. Only you."

Silence followed Draco's confession, a silence that was only broken by Harry's painful sobs. The brunet launched himself into Draco's embrace and buried his face inside the soft skin of the taller boy's shoulder, whispering "Sorry" and "I love you, too." in between heavy breaths.

"You don't have to apologize…" Draco reassured the crying teen. "I know how persuading people can be sometimes. And I haven't been an angel in the past…"

"I… I shouldn't have… I am so sorry."

Kisses were shared under the low light of the small classroom after that. Lips danced in the most ancient dance, that the human race had ever created, clothes were removed, hands started to wander against the exposed skin and teeth marked wherever they wished. Words were exchanged, quiet sentences here and there, over moans and cries of passion.

"I want you."

"Now? Here?"

"Yes."

_I am a line_

What our two lovebirds didn't know, however, was that a few meters away and outside their hiding place, Ron Weasley was searching for his best friend, who had mysteriously disappeared after he had sent him outside the locker room to tell Lavender to leave. The redhead boy was shouting his name over and over again, fearing that maybe Harry had left without him or that even worse: the girls had trapped him somewhere to make him go out with them.

"Are you looking for Harry?" a female voice asked from behind him, making Ron turn around to see Hermione walking towards him.

"Yea, he disappeared an hour ago and I don't know where he is. What are you doing here?"

"I was searching for Neville but I think that he might have left with Cedric, so I am going home. Do you want help?"

Even though they had started to be polite to each other, Ron was still shocked by Hermione's proposal. He wondered whenever or not this was the right time for him to ask her out… He saw how Seamus had managed to win Padma, why couldn't he try to win Hermione? And maybe Harry was right; he had been living in the land of denial for far too long now. He had to gather his courage and talk to her.

"Oh god!"

Wait! This wasn't his voice! And those were definitely not the words that he wanted to say!

"More!"

Oh no… Oh hell no! This wasn't… it couldn't be…

"Was that Harry?" Hermione asked him with wide eyes. The two of them turned their heads almost at the same time at the direction of the closed door on their right from where the disturbing (and traumatizing for Ron) sounds seemed to come. In the speed of lighting, the redhead ran and placed himself in front of the heavy wooden surface, blocking it from Hermione's hands so that the girl couldn't open it.

But Hermione was right behind him and if Ron hadn't been training every day with the basketball team, she might have managed to win, which would result in a very embarrassing (and also traumatizing for Ron) discovery. Luckily Harry's voice couldn't be heard anymore, something that he didn't want to think about right now.

"You know who is in there!" said Hermione, providing Ron with the perfect distraction from what was happening inside the classroom that he was so desperately protecting "You actually know! Who is it? I promise that I won't tell!"

"I am not saying anything! This is my friend's business not yours! Now go!"

Hermione just raised one of her eyebrows and folded her arms in front of her chest. Her blue blouse looked really nice on her but now was not the time to think about clothing either. "I am not going anywhere… I will just wait for Harry to come out and tell me himself. I think that after all this time that we have spent together in the same lunch table, he knows how trustworthy I am."

"Ron?"

This was an unfair world, Ron realized. Because only in a very unfair world, could a situation like this be happening. Now he had to deal not only with Hermione's detective skills but also with Lavender's extremely high voice. The short girl was just standing there, looking at them with her happy brown eyes, which made Hermione turn to him with a questioning stare.

"Ron!" Lavender shouted again. "Your friend told me that you didn't have time today but I couldn't resist… I had to see you."

Hermione's expression could only be described as murderous.

"Who is she?" she said, pointing at Lavender with an accusing finger.

Lavender didn't lose time to respond "No, the question is: who are_ you_? I am Ron's girlfriend."

Okay… he needed to step in and do it fast! Those were going to attack each other if he didn't say something. (Although, the thought of two girls fighting for him was an amazing turn on…)

"Ladies! Can we have this conversation somewhere else? And Lavender, I never said that you are-"

"We don't have to go anywhere!" told him Hermione "I am leaving! I don't want to get in between you two… besides… I haven't talked to Blaise in a while. I am sure that he will be very glad to see me."

Everything happened very fast. If you asked Ron a few hours later, he wouldn't remember how he had persuaded Lavender to leave the school or what they did and how he ended up in his own home. He wouldn't tell you, if Harry left that classroom without being noticed or not. His memory stopped working the minute; Hermione's back disappeared from his sight.

_I am a line_

"You know… for someone, who doesn't want to be discovered, you made a lot of noise during sex."

Harry stopped in the middle of buttoning up his shirt and turned around to look into his boyfriend's amused eyes. He was exhausted, truly exhausted. All those emotions that he had felt today had left only an unexpected peace in their wake but they still had been a little bit too tiring for his poor heart. Right now all he wanted to do was sleep and forget, make the events of this day look like a dream.

"You don't understand the power that you have over me, Draco." He said while putting on his jacket "You can turn me from a silent closet case into a screaming lover into seconds. Just by saying that you loved me, you made me forget about everything… Ginny, the note…"

"The note was a lie and I will prove it to you." told him Draco with determination.

"I believe you… I know that I should have analyzed the situation better before, I came here but still… this proves just how much you can affect me. I mean, only the thought of losing you can make me insane."

A pair of familiar hands reached for his, as soon as he finished his sentence, interlocking their fingers and giving them a gentle squeeze. Draco sighed heavily before he took them away and said

"Me too. I feel like that too."

A/N: FINALLY! It's done!

Hello once again, readers! I am really happy that this chapter is finished because I kept spacing out, while I was writing it. I hope that it doesn't show.

Well… let's reply to your reviews!

Teatreekni: Cliffhangers are my life! Just kidding… they help me a lot though.

Nannily: Thank you one more time for reviewing! I am trying to give all the pairings their chance to shine (with Harry and Draco being the main one of course) but you will see that no one is perfect in this story. Everyone has their dark side, sometimes it shows and sometimes it's hiding better than we think. I believe that Neville might have showed his today… Waiting to see what you have to say about this chapter!

Bye!


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